Adobo de Chancho

Braised Pork with Spicy Ají Adobo Sauce

An adobo is more of a curing technique than a specific recipe. The Spanish historically used a spicy, vinegary marinade to preserve meats before refrigeration; then the meats were slowly cooked in the adobo “sauce.” In my version, the meat cooks into a fall-apart-tender mess with a double hit of ají panca and amarillo peppers. This is another of those sauces that makes almost anything taste good: pork in any form (shoulder, butt, chops, belly), brisket, or chicken.

A giant bone-in pork shoulder is really good but requires a pretty big pot. Pork butt with a nice layer of skin and fat is also excelente, and a little more manageable. You can serve the pork in the sauce on its own or with potatoes. In my house, a sandwich is always a good idea, as there’s always so much of that crazy good sauce to sop up with the bread.

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1½ tablespoons kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ tablespoons sugar
• Zest of 1 small orange
• 1 (5- to 6-pound) bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder or bone-in pork butt with a nice layer of fat
• Olive oil
• Spicy Ají Adobo Sauce (recipe)
• Homemade chicken stock (page 40) or low-sodium store-bought broth, if needed
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt, if needed
• Crusty bread, for serving

1 Mix together the cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, sugar, and orange zest in a small dish. Use a sharp knife to lightly score the pork shoulder, if using, in a crisscross diamond pattern at roughly 2-inch intervals. If you are using a pork butt that doesn’t include the skin, don’t score the fat. Rub the spices all over the meat, cover the pork with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

2 Preheat the oven to 450°F and place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Pat the pork roast dry with paper towels and rub the meat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Place the pork, skin or fattiest side up, on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Roast the pork until dark golden brown all over, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

3 Transfer the meat to a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Pour enough ají adobo sauce into the pot to fully submerge the pork. If the pork is not fully covered, try a different size pot, or add a cup or two of chicken stock. Add the bay leaf and cover the pot with a lid or foil.

4 Bake the pork until the meat is fall-apart tender, about 4 hours. Use a large spoon to skim off as much of the surface fat from the braising liquid as possible (although a little fat is always tasty). When cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Taste the meat and braising liquid (it should have reduced to a jus-like sauce) and season with salt, if needed. If not serving right away, let cool completely, cover, and refrigerate the pork in the sauce for up to 2 days.

5 To serve, pile the pork and sauce onto a serving platter or individual plates with plenty of crusty bread alongside, or make giant, sauce-covered sandwiches.

Spicy Ají Adobo Sauce

Makes 8 to 10 cups

I like to have plenty of this sauce around, just in case I need it. If you are roasting a smaller cut of pork that doesn’t need so much sauce to cover, you can freeze any leftover sauce to braise chicken or pork chops. And if you are lucky enough to have any leftovers on the back end, spoon some of the cooked sauce into a pot of beans—so good.

• 1 large or 2 small red onions
• 5 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ají panca paste, store-bought or homemade (page 36)
• 1 tablespoon ají amarillo paste, store-bought or homemade (page 34)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (12-ounce) lager or other medium-bodied beer
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 5 pounds plum tomatoes, stem ends trimmed, quartered
• 2 cups (16 ounces) homemade chicken stock (page 40) or low-sodium store-bought broth
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt

1 Chop the onion into big chunks, roughly 1 inch or so. Peel and lightly smash the garlic. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat until hot, a good 2 minutes. Add the onions and sauté, stirring every so often, until they are nicely browned along the edges, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic, sauté for another minute, then stir in the ají panca and amarillo pastes, cumin, thyme, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently push the aderezo (flavorings) back and forth on the bottom of the pan with the spoon until the pepper pastes smell toasty and the sauce reduces slightly, about 5 minutes. Pour in the beer and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

2 Add the pepper, tomatoes, and chicken stock and bring the mixture to a low boil. Boil until the tomatoes are very soft, about 15 minutes, then set the sauce aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the bay leaf.

3 If you have a very large blender, puree the adobo sauce until smooth. Or, strain the liquid into a large bowl, puree the solids in a food processor until smooth, then return them to the broth. Stir in the vinegar and salt. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.