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Adobo

Category: Mexican

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(3.5) by 2 users

Ingredients:

8 Cloves of Garlic, unpeeled
4 Dried chiles Anchos stemmed,seeded,deveined about 2 ounces
6 Dried chiles Guajillos stemmed,seeded,deveined about 1 1/2 ounces
1/2 Inch stick cinnamon about 1/2 t ground
1 Clove, or a pinch ground
10 Black peppercorns scant 1/4 t ground
2 large Bay Leaves broken up
1/8 tsp Cumin seed, or 1/8 t ground
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Cider vinegar

Instructions:

Toasting the chiles and garlic. Roast the garlic cloves on a griddle
or heavy skillet over medium heat, turning frequently, until
blackened in spots and VERY soft, about 15 minutes. Remove, cool,
skin and roughly chop.
While the garlic is roasting, tear the chiles into flat pieces and
toast them a few at a time: Use a metal spatula to press them firmly
against the hot surface for a few seconds, until they blister,
crackle and change color, then flip them over and press them flat to
toast the other side.
Soaking the dried chiles. Break the chiles into a small bowl, cover
with boiling water, weight with a plate to keep submerged and soak 30
minutes. Drain, tear into smaller pieces, place in a blender jar and
add the garlic.
Finishing the Adobo. In a mortar or spice grinder, pulverize the
cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves and cumin. Add the chiles
along with the oregano, thyme, salt, vinegar and 3 Tb water. With a
long series of blender pulses, reduce the mixture to a paste. Run the
blender for a few seconds until the mixture clogs, then scrape down
the sides with a spatula and stir; repeat a dozen times or more until
the mixture is smooth. Don't add water unless absolutely necessary or
this marinating paste won't do its job well. Strain the paste through
a medium-mesh sieve into a noncorrosive container with a
tight-fitting lid. Cover and refrigerate.
Considerations: After soaking the chiles, they can be put through a
foley food mill to remove the skins and the seeds. Add this puree
along with the garlic to the small blender jar and proceed. If this
is done, and the mixture is put together in a small blender jar, and
pulsed, scraped down, and mixed very well the final sieving can be
eliminated.
All of the chiles can be Ancho or Guajillo. You can substitute 3 1/2
ounces of California or New Mexican chiles for the above chiles but
the flavor will be light.
Adobo with powdered chiles: For a darker, stronger tasting adobo made
without the tedious series of blender runs, roast the chiles and
garlic as directed above, then pulverize the chiles with the
cinnamon,cloves,pepper, bay leaves and cumin in several batches in a
spice grinder; sift through a medium-mesh sieve. Skin the garlic and
mash it to a smooth paste. Mix with the powdered chile mixture,
oregano, thyme, salt, vinegar and 6 Tb water. Store as directed above.