My grandmother always used to make us pork ribs in adobo sauce. She made her own Mexican, homemade adobo with ancho chili peppers, guajillos, and dried chipotle peppers, giving her adobo a special touch and a unique flavor. Over the years I have tried to recreate that delicious sauce that she made, and although my humble sauce will never compare to her cooking, this recipe is the closest I have come to her amazing adobo!
🥣 Cooking Time: 2hrs
🍲 Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
4-5 lbs of country style pork ribs 3 seedless ancho chiles 2 seedless guajillo chiles 2 seedless puya chiles (spicy guajillo) 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (preferably La Costeña brand) 1 large tomato ¼ teaspoon of whole peppercorns ½ teaspoon of whole cumin 2 whole cloves 1 small cinnamon stick 4 garlic cloves ½ a large onion 2 bay leaves 1½ tablespoons of salt 3-4 teaspoons of beef bouillon 2 cups of warm water 2 large carrots
2 large potatoes
Directions
1. In a large pot, place the pork ribs and cover with water (approx. 6-7 cups). Add ¼ of onion, salt, bay leaves, and 2 garlic cloves. Cook until the meat is almost tender (approximately 1 hour & 30 minutes).
2. Make sure to skim the excess fat as the meat cooks for a clear, less fatty broth. While the meat cooks, prepare the adobo sauce.
3. On a comal or good nonstick pan, roast the garlic, peppercorns, cloves, and leftover onion. Make sure your comal (or pan) is nice and hot, and stays on medium low to roast the spices without burning them. Roast the cinnamon, and cumin seeds last, as they will take the least amount of time.
4. Once all spices are roasted, proceed to roast all dried chiles the same way. You’ll notice how the peppers, although dried, will start soften and become more fragrant.
5. Place the roasted peppers into a saucepan with 2 cups of warm water, along with the tomato. Cook the peppers and tomato, until everything has softened enough to blend.
6. Place the peppers, tomato, spices, and chipotle peppers in a blender. Add 1 cup of the water used to boil, and blend everything until you have a smooth, thick sauce.
7. Use a strainer to strain the sauce, removing any grainy pieces, and set aside. This will be the adobo sauce.
8. After the meat has cooked and is tender, remove the onions and garlic from the broth.
9. Add the adobo sauce into the boiled pork, and add the beef bouillon to taste. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Peel and clean the carrots and potatoes, and then cut them into bite size chunks.
11. Add the veggies into the pot, and allow everything to simmer for another 20 minutes or until the veggies are fully cooked. Once ready, serve with rice for a hearty meal. ¡Buen provecho!
Notes
As I have already mentioned in my Zesty Chicken Adobo recipe, adobo is an exquisite chili sauce in Mexico used primarily for cooking pork. In Mexico, each family has its own recipe for adobo and it is used not only to prepare pork but also to prepare any other proteins at home. This sauce here is my own version, which I like to adjust according to the type of protein I cook with. For example, for my roasted chicken I like to add a little orange juice for lighter, citrusy touch. But for my stew here, I simply removed the orange and substituted it for tomato to obtain a hearty meal.
I highly recommend adjusting the amount of chipotle peppers according to your taste, if you do not want a spicy stew. Normally when I make this stew I only add potatoes, but this time I included carrots for variety. But just so you know, carrots are naturally sweet and this sometimes reduces the spiciness of the sauce. So, if you want a spicy stew, I recommend adjusting the amount of carrots and chipotle peppers. Otherwise, you can skip the carrots entirely.
If you don't want to use pork, you can substitute the ribs for chicken thighs, or beef short ribs. You can substitute the meat for the protein of your choice!
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