Asado de Puerco is a traditional Northern Mexican pork dish that’s rich and flavorful.
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Every bite is hearty and deeply satisfying, making it a favorite for family meals and special occasions – weddings, baptisms, quinceañeras.
Pair it with rice, beans, and warm tortillas for a comforting plate everyone will love.
Table of Contents
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
- In a large stock pot, add the pork, salt, bay leaves, onion, garlic, and water. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Make sure you have tender pieces of pork, then proceed to the next step.
- Remove the lid and let the water cook off until the pork begins to brown and crisp. Discard the bay leaves, onion, and garlic.
What cut of pork works best for Asado de Puerco?
Similar to Chile Verde, pork loin is often used to make this dish. However, pork shoulder or butt can also work since they become very tender when cooked.
The Name Game: Some people, depending on where you are from in Northern Mexico, will call it Chile Colorado. My family is from Durango, see how we make chile colorado.
Looking for an easier Mexican pork dish? Try Chuletas a la Mexicana or Instant Pot Pork Pozole Verde.
🌶️ Chile Sauce Ingredients
Northern Mexico is very mountainous. This is what causes variations in our recipes.
You’ll see NO orange peel used in some versions of this dish. Instead, they use spices like cloves and cinnamon to create the deep flavors.
You will also need 1 cup of water to blend everything.
- To make the sauce, remove stems, seeds, and veins from the dried chiles. Place them in boiling water, cover, and let sit until softened.
- Discard the soaking water.
If the chile is recently dried, it will not require a long time to rehydrate. Older chiles take longer in the hot water.
- Blend the softened chiles with onion, garlic, water, vinegar, cumin, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper until smooth.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tip
For faster cooking, make the sauce ahead of time. It last frozen for up to 6 months. Simply thaw and use as normal.
- Brown the seasoned pork. Don’t worry about browned bits at the bottom of the pot. They’ll come up with the sauce.
- Pour the sauce into the pot with the pork.
- Add 2 more cups of water into the blender, swirl to catch the remaining sauce, and strain that in as well.
- Add the orange peel, stir, and let everything simmer for 10 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning, remove the orange peel, and serve hot.
Cooking Pork Temperature: Whole muscle pork cuts like pork chops, tenderloin, or pork loin roast are safe to eat at 145 degrees F.
🫙 Storing Instructions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze in a sealed freezer-safe container or bag for up to 4 months. Be sure to let it cool completely before storing.
🔥 Reheating Instructions
To reheat, place the Mexican pork stew in a skillet over medium heat and warm until hot, stirring occasionally. If the sauce has thickened too much, add a splash of water or broth to get a thinner consistency. You can also reheat in the microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between.
🍴 What to serve with it?
Asado de Puerco is a true taste of Northern Mexican tradition, with its tender pork and rich, flavorful chile sauce. Pair it with rice, beans, and warm flour tortillas for a comforting plate everyone will love.
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Asado de Puerco
Ingredients
For the Pork:
- 5 lbs pork loin (chopped into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup water
For the Sauce:
- 4 cups water (for rehydrating chiles)
- 8 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- ¼ onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup water (to blend the sauce)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
- 1 strip of orange peel
- 2 cups water (for the blender)
Instructions
For the Pork:
- Place diced pork, salt, bay leaves, onion, garlic, and water in a large stock pot.
- Cook covered for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- About 20 minutes.
- The pork will begin to crisp up.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves, onion, and garlic.
For the Sauce:
- Boil 4 cups of water.
- In the meantime, remove the stems, seeds, and veins from the dried chiles.
- Place the dried chiles in the boiling water.
- Cover and turn off the heat.
- Let sit for 5-7 minutes, or until chiles are pliable.
- Discard water.
- Add the rehydrated chiles, onion, garlic, 1 cup water, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, thyme, and vinegar.
- Blend the sauce.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- Once the pork is slightly brown, place a strainer above the stock pot.
- Strain the sauce into the pot.
- Add 2 cups of water into the blender.
- Gently shake the blender with the water to get any remaining chile sauce.
- Strain the liquid into the pot.
- Add the orange peel.
- Stir to combine.
- Taste for salt. Add salt, if needed.
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove orange peel and serve.
I made this yesterday and it was delicious. I will be looking at your recipes.
Happy to hear you liked it. Thank you!
Delicious 😋
Yes it is! 🙂
Even if the asado I made didn’t turn out as photogenic as yours, it was amazing! I also added a few of my fave spices and it still turned out great! Awesome recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this!
How spicy is it. I don’t want it to spicy. Im going to making it this weekend.
Asado de Puerco is a traditional Mexican pork stew that typically has some mild heat from the use of chiles guajillos y anchos, but the level of spiciness can be adjusted to your personal taste.
I remember I have eaten someting like this when I went to Mexico. Glad I came over your recipe. I missed this and now I can finally cook my own Asado.
So glad you enjoyed this! Hope you try it
Wow this looks so delicious. I would really love to make this some night.
Hope you try this recipe. It’s delicious!
This sounds like an awesome combination of flavors! I haven’t had this dish before, but I would like to give it a try.
It’s amazing. Hope you try it!
This looks amazing! I think most of my family would love this.
Thank you! Hope you and your family like it.
If it has pork in it, I’m going to love it!! This really looks good. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to hear you like it.
Another great Mexican recipe to try. I’m sure this is would savory .
It really is! Hope you try it
I am always looking for pork recipes! I made carnitas this week! I’ll try this next!
Awesome! So glad you will try this recipe!
Looks delicious! I am always looking to try new recipes from different countries!
So glad you enjoyed this! Hope you try it
I would love to try this. I am such a fan of authentic Mexican dishes.
Hope you do. This recipe is amazing
Aww yeah. I could eat my weight in that! It seriously looks amazing. I can’t wait to make it.
Hope you try it!
Your dishes always look amazing. We have different recipes for asada but I haven’t tried this one yet!
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed this!
I know I will love this. It sounds delicious. I know my kids will love it as well!
Hope you make this recipe soon. Very delicious.