Caribe chiles, now 25% off for the next three days, are the first domesticated American chile.  Brought to Northern New Mexico to what became the little historic village of Chimayo in the early 1500's, it has been grown there and elsewhere ever since. 

These chile seeds were given to the first group of men that went with Chrisopher Columbus to the New World.  They "wintered over" in the Caribbean on what was probably Santo Domingo island.  The natives gave them these seeds as a special gift.  The Conquitadores saved them until they got to the place they wished to settle into, which was Chimayo, New Mexico.  The King of Spain had promised these men that they would each be given a land grant to be recognized by the local government in each family's name.  There,they started planting those seeds approximately 15 to 16 generations ago and are still planting them.

These chiles are thicker fleshed, artisanol chiles possessing a medium hot flavor and are dried and sold crushed.  The crushed chiles, which we sell are great  as an ingredient to a table condiment.  (I have them on my breafkast table in a small Native votive jar for adding to most any kind of food--even oatmeal.)

These chiles are the mainstay for making Carne Adobado, the fabuslously rich tasting marinated, roast pork.  We make thsi dish in our weekend and week long class as well as in the Red Chile Favorites classes.

As an aside, when I had my Pecos River Cafe in New York City, whenever we featured this dish, we could never make enough.

You can eat it as an entree or as an ingredient in tacos, tostados, omelets, burritos or enchiladas.  

It is very important that you follow all of the steps in the recipe, which follows.  First, always use pork shoulder--no other cut will be as juicy and tender and beef or other meats do not work.  You must marinate it at least 2 hours at room temperature or over night in the refrigerator.  Then roast covered in a 350F preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Reemove the cover, reduce the heat to 325F and turn the top layer and roast until fork tender, which will take a few hours. Once the pork is tender, let it cool on a cutting board, then pull into about 2 inch pieces and return to the juices in the roasting pan and roast at a low temperature of 250F for at least an  hour before serving.  Cover if the sauce is thick, like pudding or uncover if the sauce is liquid like gravy.  I am sure you will just love it. 

Our next classes are on  May 11 where we are presenting the all time favortie, New Mexico Favories and Finger Lickin' Barbecue on May  25--both at 5 PM.

I am also attaching my favorite Chocolat Cake which was the birthday cake in my restaurant and is made from a tisane or liquid from cooking the carbe chiles.  When I featured it on a radio show, I got ovet a 1000 requests for the recipe!

Enjoy--and try some of our Caribe Chile.  Here are the recipes...

CARNE ADOBADO

(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.

HOT, HOT CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is a yummy devil’s food cake. Once I shared the recipe with the listeners of Sam Arnold’s Saturday morning radio show on station WKOA in Denver and we got over 1200 requests for it. Also, it was the birthday cake of choice when I had the Pecos River Café in New York City.

Yield: 3 (8-inch) or 2 (9-inch) layers

Temperature: 350 F (375 F above 5000 ft.)

Baking Time: 25 to 35 minutes

1/4 cup crushed Caribe chiles

1 cup boiling water

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pure Mexican vanilla extract

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 3 (8-inch) or 2 (9-inch) cake pans.

          2.  Boil chiles in the water for 10 minutes, then let stand for 20     minutes.       Boil chiles in the water for 10 minutes, then let stand for 20 minutes. This can be done early in the day or ahead of time. Strain the chiles, rubbing with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to remove as much pulp as possible. Pour the chile water into a measuring cup. Add enough hot tap water to make 1 cup of liquid. Stir cocoa powder into chile water to make a smooth paste. Add soda and vanilla, stir and set aside while preparing the cake batter.

3. Beat shortening and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously after each addition.

4. Sift flour and salt into a small bowl. Add to eggs, alternating with the buttermilk, using low mixer speed. Beat on medium speed until smooth, then add the cocoa mixture and mix well.

5. If baking in layers, evenly divide the batter among the pans. Smooth batter to edges. Bake 35 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. (Bake rounds 20 to 25 minutes). Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out cake on wire racks to cool completely.

6. Prepare frosting. Frost cake while frosting is still warm and sprinkle with nuts and/or crushed chile.

Hot Fudge Frosting:

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons corn syrup

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Chopped pecans and/or crushed Caribe chile

1.  Mix sugars and cocoa together in a medium-size heavy saucepan. Add corn syrup and half-and-half. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.
2. Cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 236 F or a soft ball forms when a teaspoon of mixture is dropped into cold water. Remove from heat. Beat vigorously until mixture becomes less glossy, adding more half-and-half as needed to make a creamy fudge.

Recipe from Jane Butel’s Southwestern Kitchen cookbook

All recipes reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s publishers.