Carne Adovada
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Soak dried new mexico red chiles in hot water, blend with garlic, oregano and broth into a smooth red chile sauce, and marinate cubed pork shoulder overnight. Bake covered at 325 F for 2 1/2 hours until the pork shreds easily. Each serving carries about 30 g of protein from label values across 6 servings.
Carne Adovada is the slow baked soul of New Mexican cooking. It is chunks of pork shoulder soaked overnight in a silky sauce of dried new mexico red chiles, garlic and warm spices, then baked low until the meat surrenders into spoon tender bites wrapped in deep red chile flavor. Rich, earthy and gently spicy, it is the kind of dish that makes a whole house smell incredible.
Why you’ll love it
- The overnight marinade does the flavor work while you sleep.
- One Dutch oven from marinade to bake, so cleanup stays minimal.
- Dried chiles give a deep, complex flavor no chile powder can match.
- About 30 g of protein per serving from label values, a deeply satisfying dinner.
- Leftovers get better with time and reinvent beautifully as burritos or hash.
Ingredient notes
Dried new mexico red chiles: the entire point of the dish. Look for chiles that are pliable, not brittle, with a deep brick red color. Brittle, faded chiles are old and taste dusty. Ten chiles makes a sauce with real depth but manageable heat.
Pork shoulder: the cut built for long, slow cooking. Its fat and connective tissue melt into the sauce over 2 1/2 hours, leaving the meat tender and the sauce rich. Cut the cubes large at 1 1/2 inches, since they shrink considerably.
Garlic and oregano: the classic New Mexican pairing with red chile. Five cloves sounds like a lot, but they mellow completely in the long bake. Mexican oregano is the most traditional choice if you can find it.
Apple cider vinegar: the bright note that keeps the deep chile flavor from tasting flat. Just a tablespoon lifts the whole sauce without making it taste sour.
Chicken broth: thins the blended chiles to a pourable sauce and adds savory backbone. The reserved chile soaking liquid can stand in for part of it if you want even more chile intensity.
The strain and low bake rule that makes or breaks it
Two rules decide carne adovada, and both protect the texture. First, strain the blended chile sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Home blenders cannot fully break down dried chile skins, and those skins turn into chewy flecks that ruin the silky sauce this dish is known for. Two minutes of straining is the difference between good and great. Second, bake low and covered at 325 F. Gentle heat melts the pork’s connective tissue into tenderness, while high heat seizes the meat and turns it chewy. Strain the sauce, bake it low, and the pork comes out spoon tender every time.
Variations
- Burrito filling: shred the finished pork with two forks and roll into large flour tortillas with rice, beans and cheese.
- Breakfast hash: chop leftover pork and crisp it in a hot skillet with diced potatoes, then top with fried eggs.
- Chicken adovada: swap the pork for boneless chicken thighs and bake 1 hour 15 minutes instead of 2 1/2 hours.
- Extra heat: add 2 dried chiles de arbol to the soaking bowl for a version with real fire behind the earthy chile flavor.
What we learned testing it
- The strain test was night and day. The strained batch came out silky and restaurant smooth, while the unstrained batch had chewy bits of skin in every bite.
- Overnight beat the quick marinade clearly. The 12 hour batch tasted of chile all the way through the cubes, while the 2 hour batch only flavored the outside.
Read how we test recipes.
Carne Adovada
Makes 6 servings · 15 hr total · Medium
Ingredients
Equipment
Large Dutch oven with lid · Blender · Fine mesh strainer · Sheet pan · Large mixing bowl
Instructions
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Soak the dried red chiles
Tear the dried chiles open, shake out the seeds and pull off the stems. Place them in a large bowl and cover with the hot water, weighing them down with a small plate so they stay submerged. Soak 20 to 30 minutes until soft and pliable. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid in case the sauce needs thinning.
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Blend the smooth red chile sauce
Add the soaked chiles to a blender with the garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, chicken broth and apple cider vinegar. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until completely smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing with a spoon to push the sauce through and leave the skins and seeds behind. The strained sauce should pour like heavy cream.
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Marinate the pork overnight
Pat the pork cubes dry and place them in a large mixing bowl or directly in the Dutch oven. Pour the strained red chile sauce over the pork and turn the pieces until every cube is coated. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight. The long marinade is what drives the chile flavor deep into the meat.
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Slow bake until spoon tender
Take the pot out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking so it is not ice cold. Heat the oven to 325 F, stir the oil into the pot, cover with the lid and bake 2 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through. The carne adovada is done when a cube crushes easily with a spoon and the sauce has thickened around the meat. Rest 10 minutes, then serve with warm tortillas, onion and cilantro.
Notes
- Strain the sauce, no shortcuts. The skins and seeds left behind make the sauce gritty, while a strained sauce turns silky and clings to the pork.
- Marinate the full overnight if you can. Four hours gives good flavor, but 8 to 12 hours drives the chile deep into every cube.
- Keep the oven low and the lid on. High heat tightens the pork instead of tenderizing it, and the lid keeps the sauce from reducing to a paste.
- Taste the sauce before marinating. Dried chile heat varies, so adjust with an extra chile for heat or a spoonful of honey if it runs too hot.
- These protein estimates come from nutrition labels, not lab testing. A serving lands near 30 g of protein from typical brand labels, nearly all of it from the pork, so check your labels for your exact numbers.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- New mexico red chiles
- Use dried guajillo chiles for a similar sweet earthy flavor, or a mix of guajillo and ancho. Avoid chile de arbol unless you want serious heat.
- Pork shoulder
- Use boneless country style ribs cut into chunks. They have similar marbling and turn just as tender in the same bake time.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Use white vinegar or fresh lime juice. The acid brightens the deep chile flavor, and any mild acid does the job.
Storage and make-ahead
Carne adovada keeps wonderfully. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days, and like most braised dishes it tastes even better reheated the next day. Warm gently on the stove or in a 325 F oven with a splash of broth. Freeze for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Shredded leftovers make excellent burrito, taco or breakfast hash filling.
Frequently asked questions
What is carne adovada?
Carne adovada is a classic New Mexican dish of pork marinated in a pureed red chile sauce, then slow baked until the meat is spoon tender. The name means marinated meat, and the dish is all about the deep, earthy flavor of dried new mexico red chiles soaking into pork shoulder.
Is carne adovada very spicy?
It has a warm, deep heat rather than a sharp burn. New mexico red chiles are moderately hot, earthy and a little sweet. If you are spice shy, use mild labeled chiles and remove all the seeds. If you want more fire, add a dried chile de arbol or two to the soaking bowl.
Can I make carne adovada without an overnight marinade?
You can, but the flavor will not reach as deep. A 4 hour marinade gives good results in a pinch. If you are truly short on time, simmer the pork in the sauce on the stove for 2 hours instead, though the texture will be a little less silky than the slow bake.
Do I really need to strain the chile sauce?
Yes, it is the step that separates good carne adovada from great. Dried chile skins never fully break down in a home blender, and straining leaves you with a silky sauce that clings to the meat. It takes two minutes and changes the whole dish.
What do you serve with carne adovada?
Warm flour tortillas are traditional, along with chopped white onion, cilantro and lime. It also works over rice, inside burritos and breakfast burritos, or piled onto tostadas. The rich red sauce loves something starchy to soak it up.
