A few years ago Jake and I were headed back to San Antonio after a few days chasing reds and speckled trout on the flats around Rockport on the Texas coast.
We had stayed far longer than planned and didn’t leave until around 10 pm. The drive was more or less uneventful though we rolled into San Antonio about 130 the next morning, famished and sunburned.
Running on the poor judgment that a long weekend’s second or third wind brings, we pulled into one of the ubiquitous Taco Cabana taco houses and gorged on cheap fajita and carne adovada tacos.
It was as if we hadn’t eaten in days.
The beer was cold and the food sublime; a little carne adovada sauce dripping down your chin at 2 in the morning was the perfect end to a fishing weekend.
That experience marked the beginning of our quest to find a great Carne Adovada recipe to cook at home. There are hundreds if not thousands of recipes out there for this stew, many of them overly complicated and gussied up, though our clan insists this is the best we’ve ever tasted – anywhere.
It does indeed require a pound of red chile powder, and you should used genuine Chimayo red chile if you can….my southwestern chef friends insist that type of pepper and the size of the eventual chile powder grind influence volume measures significantly, so the chile powder should be measured by weight and not volume.
Whatever, this one works. Very, very well.
1 pound red chile powder (Chimayo if you can)
2 tbsp. granulated garlic
2 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. good salt
Water as needed
4 pounds lean pork, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes
A dozen or so tortillas (corn preferred)
Your favorite taco trimmings – at least 2 cups of grated cheddar or pepper jack…
Make the chile paste. Combine the red chile powder, granulated garlic, cumin, oregano and salt in a large bowl. Stirring constantly, slowly pour in enough water to create a sauce with the consistency of soft peanut butter.
Marinate. Stir in the pork and mix until the pork is well coated and evenly dispersed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Roast. Preheat over to 300. Pour the pork and marinade into a large roasting pan, add a bit of water if too thick. Cover and roast for at least 2 – 3 hours until the pork is fork tender (will depend on the size of your pork pieces), checking every 40 minutes or so to stir and add more water if needed.
Serve it up. Most often we dollop into a sturdy corn tortilla, top with a bit of cheese, lettuce, chopped tomato and pico and go to town. You can spoon a cup or so into a flour tortilla, roll it up, place in a baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes in a hot oven….
Enjoy.
