Carne Adovada Estilo Sonora

(Sonoran-Style Marinated Pork)

This unusual recipe is half jerky and half grilled pork. Don't worry about exposing the meat to the air; the vinegar is a high-acid preservative.

Ingredients

• 10 Chiltepins (or more to taste), seeds removed and saved

• 10 dried red New Mexican chiles, stems removed, seeds removed and saved

• 3 large cloves garlic

• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 small cabbage, chopped

• Juice of 4 limes

• 4 pounds pork tenderloin, sliced into strips 1/4 to 1/2 inch thin
  (for easier slicing, freeze the pork slightly, then slice)

• Corn or flour tortillas

Instructions

Boil the New Mexican chiles until they are soft. Add all the other ingredients except the pork, chile seeds, and tortillas and puree in a blender to make the marinade.

Add the seeds to the chile marinade and marinate the pork in the mixture for an 1 hour. Hang the strips of meat over a clothesline in the sun and arrange cheesecloth around them to keep the insects away. Dry the meat in the sun for two days in dry weather and then refrigerate until ready to use.

Grill the meat strips over mesquite wood for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Dice the strips and spread the meat over thin flour or corn tortillas.. Spread chopped cabbage over the meat and sprinkle lime juice over the top. Fold the tortilla in half and serve.

Serves: 8

Heat Scale: Hot to Extremely Hot