Happy Holy Week and Easter for those of you who celebrate it.  With Easter signaling spring,  what could be more fun than barbecuing?  There are a few places left in our always popular Barbecue class set for April 8 at 5 PM, where we make all kinds of barbecue sauces and barbecue  meats and seafoods and the rubs to use with them.  The class is still on a 10% off  sale, just click here to see the dishes we will be creating.

After the usual Easter fare of either ham or lamb and all the trimmings, I thought you might enjoy a great, yummy spicy dish, Carne Adobado .  I have placed the essential ingredient, caribe chile on a 20% off sale until April  3, 2021.  There are  some very important techniques to  creating the fabulous flavors that are so special to Carne. 

First and foremost, ALWAYS use pork shoulder, cut into one inch thick or less pieces or steaks.   (If at all possible either buy boneless pork shoulder or have the butcher slice the shoulder into bone-in steaks.  The other  techniques are to marinate it overnight before roasting or at the very least, allow  the pork shoulder steaks to marinate at least two hours before roasting. 

Roast it covered in a 350F oven for 30 minutes, then uncover, reduce the heat to 325F and roast until fork tender...usually about 2 to 3 hours., turning the top layer after about an hour of roasting. When cool enough to handle,pull or cut the pork into pieces  the size of a quarter and return to the sauce in the roasting pan.  If the sauce is still the consistency of a thin gravy, just stir the pieces until well coated and place in a 250F oven for at least 30 minutes or more.  If there is little or no liquid sauce in the bottom of the roasting pan, then stir in water to make a  sauce  and stir to cover the pieces of meat.  In this case cover the  roasting pan with a lid or foil.   

You may serve the carne as is as an entree or use it as a filling in burritos, tacos or with refried  pinto beans,  grated cheese and chopped onion for a special burrito or chimichanga.  Carne is great as a breakfast meat and very special when used like corned beef hash to nest eggs in and steam, topped with grated cheese and chopped onion.  Carne freezes quite well in freezer weight bags.  I hope you make some and enjoy the results!

We still have some spaces left in our June 15-21,  2021. Oaxaca tour, featured last week  in our blog as well as our April 23-25, 2021 weekend class.  The next day class is Perfect Pies on May 6. For more classes go to our calendar.  More will soon be posted as Covid  languishes.

Here's my favorite Carne Adobado recipe.  Our spices are the freshest and p;urest and make for the best flavors.

CARNE ADOBADA

(Pork with Red Chile Sauce)

This is one of the best, if not the very best-tasting, pork creations from northern New Mexico.  Traceable back to Conquistador days, this dish has somehow never gained favor outside of New Mexico.  I think it is because crushed caribe chiles are hard to find outside the area.  I always make a full five and one half pound recipe because I like to have lots available for burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, or to serve over or under  rice, beans or eggs.

Yield:  10-12 servings 

1/2 cup crushed caribe chile

1/4 cup ground mild chile

1/4 cup ground hot chile

3 garlic cloves

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons Mexican oregano

2 teaspoons salt

4 cups water

5-1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch thick chops (trimmed so as to keep a narrow layer of fat around the edges) 

1. Process all the ingredients except pork in a blender or food processor. Pour into a flat-bottomed glass baking dish.  Dip each pork chop into the marinade and lay to one side of the baking dish as you coat the rest.  Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, periodically spooning chile mixture over the top and turning chops over.  Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (The pork can be frozen for up to 3 months at this point.) 

2. In the morning, stir and coat each pork chop with chile sauce. Stir and coat again.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Cover pan with lid or foil; bake chops, covered for the first 30 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 2 to  2-1/2 hours longer, spooning the sauce over chops every 30 minutes.  Let cool. 

3. Using a sharp knife, remove bones and pull meat apart with your fingers to shred the pork into about 25 cent size pieces—do not finely shred the pork.  Place shredded meat back in the baking dish and stir to coat the meat pieces.  If the sauce in the bottom of the dish is like thin gravy, no need to cover.  If it is thick, stir in water to make a gravy and coat each piece of meat and cover    Bake at least 30 minutes or longer at 250F  to allow the sauce to cook into the  pork.  When done, the meat should be a bright rosy red color and very tender.

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s Southwestern Kitchen.