Chef Lupita
Birria Chile Adobo (Adobo para Birria)
Jalisco's birria begins with this chile adobo: guajillo, ancho, warm spices, vinegar, and manteca worked into a brick-red paste that turns goat or lamb into birria.
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Colima Coconut-Vinegar Adobo for Tatemado
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Colima's pork tatemado begins with this sharp red adobo: guajillo chiles, a little ancho for depth, garlic, oregano, and vinagre de coco from the coast.
Sauces & Condiments
Mexican
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
10 min cook•8 hr 35 min total
YieldAbout 2 cups, enough for 4 pounds pork
Colima is small on the map, but don't confuse small with minor. This adobo lives between the Pacific coast, the coconut groves around Tecoman, and the inland kitchens where pork is left to drink chile, garlic, oregano, and vinagre de coco before it meets the fire.
The chile here is mostly guajillo. Bright red, clean, not too hot. A little chile ancho gives body and sweetness, but guajillo carries the dish. The vinegar matters just as much. Coconut vinegar, made from fermented palm sap or coconut water along the coast, gives tatemado its sharp edge. If you use white vinegar, the pork will still marinate. It won't taste like Colima. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
I learned this version from a señora near Comala who kept the adobo in a clay jar, not because it looked pretty, but because the kitchen was hot and she knew how to plan. She rubbed it into pork the night before a family meal and told me, 'El adobo trabaja mientras una duerme.' The adobo works while you sleep. That is good cooking. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Tatemado comes from the Nahuatl root connected to 'tatemar,' meaning to roast or scorch over fire, a word still used across Mexico for charring chiles, tomatoes, onions, and meat. Colima's version developed as a coastal-inland dish, joining pork introduced after the Spanish conquest with local chile adobos and vinegars tied to coconut and palm cultivation on the Pacific coast. The use of vinagre de coco separates Colima's tatemado from neighboring Jalisco adobos, which more often lean on fruit vinegar or plain cane vinegar.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried chile guajillo
Quantity
10
wiped clean, stemmed and seeded
dried chile ancho
Quantity
2
wiped clean, stemmed and seeded
vinagre de coco (coconut vinegar)
Quantity
1/2 cup
hot water or pork broth
Quantity
1/2 cup, plus more as needed
garlic cloves
Quantity
6
peeled
white onion
Quantity
1/2 small
roughly chopped
dried Mexican oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
cumin seeds
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
whole cloves
Quantity
2
bay leaf
Quantity
1
crumbled
kosher salt
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons
piloncillo or dark brown sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
manteca de cerdo
Quantity
2 tablespoons
pork shoulder, country-style ribs, or pork leg
Quantity
4 pounds
for marinating
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried chile guajillowiped clean, stemmed and seeded | 10 |
| dried chile anchowiped clean, stemmed and seeded | 2 |
| vinagre de coco (coconut vinegar) | 1/2 cup |
| hot water or pork broth | 1/2 cup, plus more as needed |
| garlic clovespeeled | 6 |
| white onionroughly chopped | 1/2 small |
| dried Mexican oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| cumin seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| whole cloves | 2 |
| bay leafcrumbled | 1 |
| kosher salt | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| piloncillo or dark brown sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| manteca de cerdo | 2 tablespoons |
| pork shoulder, country-style ribs, or pork legfor marinating | 4 pounds |
Equipment Needed
- •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet
- •High-powered blender
- •Small clay cazuela or heavy saucepan
- •Glass or glazed clay bowl for marinating
Instructions
- 1
Toast the chiles
Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo in batches for about 20 seconds per side, just until the skins darken slightly and smell fruity. Toast the chile ancho separately. It is thicker and sweeter, but it still burns if you get careless. Do not blacken the chiles. Burned chile turns the adobo bitter, and pork will carry that bitterness all the way to the table.
Press each chile flat with tongs so it kisses the comal evenly. That quick contact wakes up the oils without cooking the chile to death. - 2
Soften the chiles
Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Hot, not boiling. Let them soak for 20 minutes, until the flesh bends easily between your fingers. Drain them and save 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid only if it tastes clean. If it tastes harsh, use hot water or pork broth instead.
- 3
Toast the spices
On the same comal, toast the cumin seeds and cloves for 30 to 45 seconds, moving them constantly. They should smell warm and direct, not burnt. Rub the Mexican oregano between your palms over the blender jar. That is how you open dried oregano. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
- 4
Blend the adobo
Add the softened chiles, coconut vinegar, hot water or broth, garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, cloves, bay leaf, salt, and piloncillo to a blender. Blend until the adobo is completely smooth, at least 90 seconds. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon but loose enough to rub into meat. If the blender struggles, add one tablespoon of liquid at a time. Don't drown it.
- 5
Fry the paste
Melt the manteca de cerdo in a small cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Pour in the adobo. It will sputter. Stir constantly for 5 to 7 minutes, until the color deepens from bright red to brick red and the fat begins to shine at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This frying step takes the raw bite off the garlic and ties the chile to the vinegar.
- 6
Cool before marinating
Scrape the adobo into a bowl and let it cool completely. Taste it only after it cools. It should be sharp, salty, and deep, because it is seasoning several pounds of pork. If it tastes polite now, it will disappear after cooking.
- 7
Rub into pork
Rub the cooled adobo into 4 pounds of pork shoulder, country-style ribs, or pork leg. Work it into every cut and fold. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. This is the cure for tatemado. The vinegar tightens and seasons the pork while the chile stains it red. No me vengas con atajos.
Chef Tips
- •Look for vinagre de coco in Mexican coastal markets, Filipino markets, or Latin grocery stores with a serious vinegar shelf. If you cannot find it, use good cane vinegar with one tablespoon of fresh lime juice. It works, but it loses the coastal Colima signature.
- •Guajillo should be flexible, shiny, and brick red. If the chile cracks like old paper, leave it at the stall. Old chiles make dusty adobo. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
- •This adobo is for pork tatemado, not barbecue sauce. It should taste stronger than something you would spoon directly over rice. The meat, the fat, and the fire will soften it.
- •Use manteca de cerdo for frying the paste. Oil will move the adobo around the pan, yes, but it will not give the same rounded pork flavor. Así se hace y punto.
Advance Preparation
- •The adobo can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated in a covered glass jar. The vinegar keeps it lively and the chile flavor settles.
- •Pork for tatemado should marinate at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Past that, the vinegar starts changing the texture too much.
- •Freeze the cooked adobo, without raw meat, for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and stir well before using.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 185g)
Calories
555 calories
Total Fat
39 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
22 g
Cholesterol
145 mg
Sodium
640 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
39 g
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