The one recipe I can't escape from- especially when Hurricane Irene is about to bang on my door, is his just truly delicious Carne Adovada. I serve mine either in tacos with guacamole, pickled red onions, grilled pineapple and cojita cheese or just on a fresh sesame roll. Either way you are going to want to make this again and again.
Each time I make it I tweek a few things, I try out new Mexican Dried Chilis, use a whole bone in shoulder rather then boneless and add a few extra seasonings. This way seems to work the best for me...
Carne Adovada
slightly adapted from David Tanis (heart of the artichoke and other journeys 2010)
6 ounces dried New Mexico red chilis ( I mix 3 oz New Mexico red chilis, 2 oz Chile Guajillo and 1oz Chile Arbol but it just depends what you can find in your store)
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely diced
Salt and Pepper
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground (see below for tips)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground (see below for tips)
1 bay leaf
6 pounds bone in pork shoulder (about a small whole pork shoulder with skin on about 1/3) You can also use 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
For toasting and grinding the seeds, it really makes all the difference. I never use to do it and I really had no idea what all of those seasonings tasted like. Once you start toasting them you can totally smell how lemony coriander is! Just add the seasonings to a heated cast iron pan or skillet over medium heat and toast until fragrant (about 3-4 minutes) Then grind in a mortar.
To start on the chili's, you need to toast them in a cast iron pan over medium heat- about 1-2 min on each side until they just start to become fragrant and slightly char. Do this in shifts- it makes it a lot easier. Then put to the side and work on the next batch. Once all the chili's are toasted, cut them in half and remove all stems and seeds.
NOTE! I make myself some makeshift gloves because these are some serious chilis. Put some ziplock bags over your hands while cutting the chilis and removing the seeds. This helps to keep the oils off your skin and you wont have to soak your hands in milk later on:)
Once all seeded, put the chilis into a pot with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes and let the chilis cool in the liquid. Then puree the chilis with a cup of the cooking liquid until nice and smooth. (If using a blender, you can fill blender and cool in refrigerator completely before blending- avoiding the heat blowout of peppers all over your walls)
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 min and be watchful not to brown the onions so keep stirring them around. Then add the garlic, ground cumin, coriander and bay leaf. You can add a little more salt and simmer for another 5 min. (You can do this ahead of time and just refrigerate the sauce until ready)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the pork in a cast iron heavy ovenproof pot with a lid and season with salt and pepper. Then top with the chili sauce. Bake for about 3 hours or until meat is falling off the bone. Usually after an hour or so I'll flip the meat over and baste it, again at hour two and hour two and a half just to keep testing it for done-ness.
When falling off the bone- remove the pork from the pot and place it on a cutting board. At this point I will peel off the fatty skin and discard. Then gently shred the meat with two forks and discard any bones, extra fat, etc. Add into a new pot with some of the sauce (start with a cup or so and mix, then add more to taste) You probably wont need all of the sauce.
This is good for about 4 days so just keep reheating it on the stove and enjoy!
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