Carne Adobada

Source: Zestful Kitchen

Click here to read about my experience making this recipe for my state meal challenge!

Servings: 6

Total time: 12+ hours

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lb pork shoulder, cut into 1″ pieces
• 3 cups dried New Mexico chilis, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
• 4 cups water
• 2 Tbs honey
• 2 Tbs white vinegar
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• Lime wedges for garnish

DIRECTIONS

• In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat, add the chilis, cover, and let sit for about 30 minutes, until the chilis have softened.
• Discard 2 cups of liquid from the pan but leave the rest. Add the honey, vinegar, garlic, oregano, cumin, cayenne, salt, and cloves. Use an immersion blender to puree everything into a thick paste.
• In a Dutch oven sprayed with cooking spray, combine the pork and chile paste and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
• Before cooking, let the pork sit out at room temperature for about 1 hour.
• Adjust your oven rack to a middle-lower position and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Add bay leaves, cover, and cook the pork until tender, at least 2 1/2 hours.
• Discard the bay leaves and stir well. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving warm with homemade tortillas and/or cilantro lime rice!