RED CHILE SCENTED PORK ON THE GRILL, NEW MEXICAN STYLE
It's been a year since I went to New Mexico for vacation and I was looking through the file of pix
from there 2 nights ago..what do you think happened? That's right. I suddenly got the urge to cook
something that I picked up there. Luckily I brought back a few bags of this awesome green chile
powder, and one of something called Adovada mix. Carne Adovada is regional dish from New
Mexico that is infact steeped in Mexican and Spanish cuisine. The Adovada or Adobado part comes
from Adobo, meaning marinated. The specific marinade is always a mix of vinegar, chiles, oregano
and garlic. Adobo features in many cuisines where the Spanish have been. Filipino chicken adobo
is just plain delicious!! And so are all the other variations on the adobo theme. In the Americas
cumin is generally added as well. There are as many adovado recipes in New Mexico as there
as tumbleweeds and cacti. Smack me for sounding like Sandra Lee, but dish is just so perfect
as it's made in New Mexico, I would suggest you find this specific blend, and here's where I am NOT
Sandra Lee, it has to be made from New Mexican red chiles, the taste of their chiles, red and green
is amazing. Something about the Land of Enchantment that turns them into wonders from nature.
Here is a place you can order on line: http://www.loschileros.com/ This is a local New Mexican
spice company. There are others and my favorite was the blend I bought at the Sante Fe Farmer's
Market from Trujillo Farms. Can you blend your own mix of chile powder, garlic, oregano and cumin?
Sure, but it may taste way more Tex-Mex than New Mexican.
As you drive through the stae, these "ristras" or strings of dried red chiles are everywhere.These
are the chiles used in the preparation of this mix. The traditional way of making Carne Adovada
is to cube some pork, marinade it in vinegar, oil, New Mexican Red Chile powder, cumin, garlic
and vinegar. It's marinaded over night and slow cooked until the pork is meltingly tender...mmm.
I had it first just north of Santa Fe and fell in love, MAS AMOR! Throught the time in New Mexico
I had it a few more times and swore when I got home I'd start making it. Well after looking at those
pix the other night I decided to make it, but a little different. I had bought a 3 lb piece of Pork roast
with some fat still on it, not much. I'm thinking,make 1/4 inch. slices out of it and marinate it for 1
hour, then grill it. The experiment on a traditional recipe was a success! However, I will never, nor
should you call it Carne Adovada..that distinction belongs to a completely different dish..let's tag
this one New Mexican Adovada Grilled Pork...there, now I feel better. Let's proceed with the
recipe. Make the marinade with 1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 4 tbs. of the Adovada blend, 2 finely
minced cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/3 tsp. crumbled oregano (mexican is best for this if you
have it), 3 tbs. Corn oil, 1 tsp. Agave Nectar.
As I'm writing this I'm thinking, Adovada is not that easy to come by, but the color it imparts to the finished product
without over heating the spice in the dish is what made me fall in love with it. To make your own,
I'm going out on a limb here and going to wing this...adjust accordingly to your taste..3 tsp. chile
powder, 2 tbs. ground ancho chiles, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, blend well...ok
try that ONLY if you can't get the real deal...now back to the recipe...whisk all of that together and
let it sit for at least 15 minutes. In the mean time, take your pork roast and make as many 1/4
inch slices as you can..this should feed 4-6.
Rub the marinade all over the slices and let them sit covered in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Heat a grill to medium hot..oil the grates and grill on the first side for about 6-7 minutes, checking
the bottom to make sure it's not burning. You should get really nice grill marks with the red chile
giving the meat a wonderful coloring. Then turn and cook an addition 5 minutes. Pork doesn't have
to be turned into dust anymore, but check a piece to see if it's done to your liking. The finished
product should look like this:
Can you smell that smoky , chile and garlic infused pork? With hints of oregano and cumin? Serve
this with a green salad with a spicy ranch style dressing, maybe refried beans or chile spiked potatoes
on the side.or fresh summer corn....use your imagination!
I'll be making this again before the Summer is over.
So, I leave you tonight with the flavors of New Mexico and a picture of that land of enchantment..
Posted by peter battaglia at 8/12/2011 10:07 PM 
Categories: PORK, NEW MEXICAN CUISINE, CHILES
Tags: NEW MEXICAN FOOD PORK GRILLING CHILES
Categories: PORK, NEW MEXICAN CUISINE, CHILES
Tags: NEW MEXICAN FOOD PORK GRILLING CHILES
That looks SOOOO Good!
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thank you and enjoy these regional American flavors...
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Thank you for sharing your delicioius recipe & the website Peter. We were 10 years ago in Sanat Fe and still remember the rich smoky flavors and aromas....and yes we can smell the same gorgeous aromas on your recipe toooo
Cheers
JUdit & Corina
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thank you both...the food was so familiar yet different from most other types of Tex-Mex, Southwestern and Mexican I had..the seasonings are less pronouced in some areas and the flavor of these chiles is definitely somewhat different...just earthier and very tasty..we fell in love with it.
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