Asado de Boda, pork in a red chile sauce, is a simple and inexpensive dish made popular in the city of Zacatecas, Mexico. It’s a cross between an Asado de Puerco(red chile pork) and a Mole. The title literally translates as wedding stew and is still to this day traditionally prepared for weddings.
But not only for weddings, for any special occasion, such as baptisms, quinceañeras or any day that requires a special menu. A few years back one of my foodie friends asked about a special dish prepared at weddings. I assumed he was speaking of mole and it was not until recently that I came across several recipes for Asado de Boda. As I researched each recipe, there were only slight variations. Some do not include chocolate or nuts, but then it would really just be more like the typical Asado de Puerco. I took a little of all the things I wanted to try in the sauce and came up with this recipe. One of the most enjoyable parts of cooking at home is taking a recipe and making it your own. Of course, I do not like to stray too far when it comes to a traditional recipe. But, you also have to consider what ingredients are available to you. For today’s recipe, I added some chile pulla. It’s a bit spicy, but not as spicy as chile de arbol or chile piquin. It had been a while since I had cooked with this pepper, but thanks to online shopping, I have found a new source for all my dried chiles. That makes this Mexican cook very happy! #foodieforlife #mexicanfood #asadodeboda
Asado de Boda (Red Chile Pork)
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork country ribs boneless, sliced into 2 inch pieces(you can use pork shoulder as well)
- salt
- Water
- 8 chile guajillo
- 4 chile ancho
- 8 chile pulla or chile de arbol
- *remove stems and seeds from peppers
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1/2 white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1-2 inch piece of Mexican cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- Olive oil
- 1 large bolillo diced
- 1/4 cup blanched almonds
- Juice of 1/2 orange
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar optional
- 1 disc 3 oz Mexican chocolate
- 2 full tablespoons crushed piloncillo or dark brown sugar
Instructions
Directions
- Add 8 -10 cups of water to the pork. Season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for 1 hour, 30 minutes.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chile peppers. Dry toast the peppers on a comal (griddle) that has been preheated at medium heat. Toast them just until they become aromatic. Turn them as needed. Do not let them burn or they will become bitter.
- Place peppers in a pot of simmering water. Add the tomato, onion, garlic, cinnamon and bay leaves. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a pan, preheat 1/4 cup of oil to medium for 3 minutes. Fry the almonds until light golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove onto a plate. In that same pan, fry the bread. If you need a little more oil, add it now. Remove bread once it's crispy and golden.
- Drain and discard all the liquid from the soaking pepper mix. To the blender, add chile pepper/tomato mix with 2 cups od pork stock. Blend on high until smooth. Strain sauce into a large cazuela(pot). Rinse blender and add almonds, fried bread, orange juice and 1 cup of pork stock. Blend on high until smooth.
- Add the blended bread/almond sauce to the chile sauce in the cazuela. Heat to medium. Using a slotted spoon, add the cooked pork to the sauce and 2 to 3 more cups of stock. Bring to a boil, add in the thyme, oregano, vinegar, chocolate and piloncillo. Once chocolate melts, reduce heat and taste for salt and pepper. Continue cooking at a simmer for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with Arroz Mexicano, Mexican Rice. Yields 8 servings.
Pork Country-Style Ribs
Pan Bolillo- Recipe on site!
Fried bread and almonds
Mexican chocolate-Abuelita brand
The two sauces come together. 
Asado de Boda served with Mexican rice and black beans.
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Sounds like an amazing recipe. Gracias
I made this tonight and it was so good. The directions were easy to follow. I am so glad that I ran across this site as I want to learn authentic Mexican cooking as I was not fortunate enough to be born Latina 🙂
That’s so wonderful to hear Jessica! Thank you for the feedback. I am happy you found my blog too.
OMG I made this! It tastes exactly like my grandmothers. Thank you so much. After she got old, she wasn’t able to make this anymore. She gave me a list of ingredients, but I had no idea on how to even start making this. After making this recipe and tweaking it a bit, I added peanuts and left out the piloncillo, it was exactly like she used to make. Thank you.
Hi Jordan! I am so happy I could help you reconnect with your grandmother with this recipe! I appreciate your feedback and love that you made the recipe your own! Wonderful!