Equipment
Ingredients
Adobo Sauce
- ancho chillies, stemmed and seeded
- pasilla chillies, stemmed and seeded
- guajillo chillies, stemmed and seeded
- 500 ml water, boiling
- white onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic, peeled
- 60 ml apple cider vinegar
- 2 g dried oregano
- 3 g ground cumin
- 2 g black peppercorns
- 3 whole cloves
- 10 g salt
The Pork
- 1200 g boneless pork shoulder, cut into 5cm chunks
- 30 ml vegetable oil
- 250 ml chicken broth, warm
- 2 bay leaves, dried
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 524 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbohydrates
- 1 g
- Fat
- 41 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 935 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 13 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 16 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Cholesterol
- 143 mg
- Potassium
- 637 mg
- Calcium
- 46 mg
- Iron
- 2.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 41 mg
- Phosphorus
- 370 mg
- Zinc
- 5.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 5 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 3.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 3 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.7 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.5 mcg
- Thiamin
- 1.55 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.59 mg
- Niacin
- 7.8 mg
- Folate
- 11 mcg
- Water
- 262 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place the dried, stemmed, and seeded ancho, pasilla, and guajillo chillies in a dry Dutch oven over medium heat. Toast them for 1 to 2 minutes, pressing down lightly with tongs, until they become fragrant and slightly pliable. Do not allow them to smoke or blacken.
Transfer the toasted chillies to a heatproof bowl and cover them entirely with the boiling water. Submerge them by placing a smaller bowl or plate on top if necessary. Let them rest for 20 minutes to rehydrate.
Use tongs to move the softened chillies into a blender. Pour in 250ml of the soaking liquid, discarding the rest. Add the white onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, dried oregano, ground cumin, black peppercorns, whole cloves, and salt. Blend on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until a very smooth, thick puree forms.
Heat the vegetable oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pat the pieces of pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, sear the pork chunks for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deeply browned. Transfer browned pieces to a plate as you go.
Return all the browned pork chunks and their resting juices to the Dutch oven. Pour the blended adobo puree over the meat, followed by the warm chicken broth. Drop in the dried bay leaves. Stir thoroughly, scraping the bottom of the pot to lift up any flavorful browned bits.
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer on the stove. Once simmering, cover the Dutch oven tightly with its lid and transfer it to an oven preheated to 160C/320F. Braise undisturbed for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until the pork yields entirely when pressed with a fork and reaches an internal temperature of at least 90C/195F to ensure the connective tissues have melted.
Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes. Locate and discard the two bay leaves. Using two forks, gently break apart and shred the tender pork directly in the pot, mixing it continuously with the rich adobo sauce until thoroughly coated.
Chef's Notes
- Using a mix of chillies is crucial for authentic adobo. Ancho brings sweet, raisiny fruitiness; pasilla offers deep, prune-like earthiness; and guajillo provides a bright, acidic bite and vibrant red color.
- Do not skip patting the pork dry before searing. Excess moisture creates steam, which will prevent the Maillard reaction needed for a deeply savory crust.
- If you find the sauce too thin after the pork finishes braising, remove the pork chunks temporarily and simmer the sauce aggressively on the stovetop for 10 minutes to reduce and thicken it.
- For the highest food safety standards, remember to thoroughly sanitize the blender immediately after using it if your raw pork happened to splatter near the prep station.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store in an airtight container. The complex flavors of the adobo will deepen and improve after a day in the refrigerator.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze in a sealed, airtight container along with the sauce to prevent the meat from drying out.
Reheating: Reheat gently in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat until bubbling throughout. Add a splash of water or chicken broth if the sauce has thickened too much.
Troubleshooting
Adobo sauce tastes bitter instead of rich and earthy
Cause: The dried chillies were toasted for too long and began to burn before soaking
Fix: Stir in a small pinch of brown sugar or a drizzle of agave syrup to balance the bitterness, though heavily burnt flavors cannot be completely neutralized.
Prevention: Toast chillies only until they just become fragrant, usually under two minutes. Keep them moving constantly.
Pork is tough and chewy rather than melt-in-the-mouth tender
Cause: The braising time was too short or the oven temperature was too high, causing the meat fibers to tighten without melting the collagen
Fix: Return the covered pot to the oven and continue to braise in 30-minute increments, adding a splash of water if the sauce looks dry, until the pork becomes tender.
Prevention: Allow adequate time for low-and-slow cooking, ensuring the internal temperature reaches at least 90C.
Cultural Context
Adobo originated as a practical preservation method in Mexico, where indigenous communities and later Spanish colonizers used a paste of local ground chillies, acidic vinegar, and salt to cure and protect meats in hot climates. Over generations, this technique evolved from a basic preservative into one of the foundational flavor profiles of Mexican gastronomy. Today, pork adobo is deeply cherished as a celebratory and comforting slow-cooked dish, often served wrapped in warm tortillas, spooned over rice, or featured heavily in tamale fillings.
