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Mexican


1/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil
3 1/2 pounds pork loin or butt, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 cups diced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth or water, divided
1 teaspoon ground canela (cinnamon)
2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
2 teaspoons ground coriander seed
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons chile caribe (crushed red chile pods)
3/4 cup Chimayo ground red chile, mild or medium
1 tablespoon red chile honey (recipe below)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons salt, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the pork in batches. Set the pork aside. Add the onions to the skillet and saut� until golden. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Deglaze the skillet with 1 cup of the chicken broth, loosening the browned bits by rubbing the pan with the back of a spoon.
3. Place the canela, cumin, coriander, oregano, chile caribe, red chile, honey, vinegar and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Add the cooked onions, garlic and broth to the processor and run the machine until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
4. Place the browned pork, the chile marinade and the remaining 1 cup chicken broth in an oven-proof pot or dish, stir to combine well, and bake for 1 hour or until the pork is tender. Serve the carne adovada over chile rellenos, over rice, wrapped in a flour tortilla as a burrito or with beans and posole.

For the honey:
Mix 1 cup honey with 1 tablespoon red chile powder and 1/4 teaspoon each ground cumin and garlic salt. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Variation:
The traditional method for making this dish is to eliminate step 2 and mix the marinade ingredients with the raw onions and garlic. Pour this over the unbrowned meat. Cover the mixture and refrigerate overnight. Pour the meat and the marinade into an ovenproof casserole or pot and bake, covered, for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until tender. The method described above, although not traditional, brings out the flavors of the onion, garlic and pork because the ingredients are browned first.

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