Name: Isthmian Chile-Garlic Sauce with Pork (Chileajo con Puerco)
Yield: About 8 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 12 guajillo chiles, tops and seeds removed; 4 to 5 pounds pork shoulder or butt, bone in; 4 thick slices day-old challah or brioche, or two 8-ounce French rolls; One 1½-inch piece canela; ½ teaspoon achiote paste; 2 teaspoons black peppercorns; 8 bay leaves; 3 ancho chiles, tops and seeds removed; 8 medium ripe tomatoes; 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crumbled; 12 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; ½ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled; 1 large onion, coarsely chopped; ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar (optional); 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; ½ teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled; 4 cups homemade chicken stock, or more as needed

Preparation info

About
8
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

Chileajo figures prominently at weddings in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is customary for the bride’s family to make up a big batch and send it to the groom’s family. In Oaxaca the sauce would ordinarily be served with plain shredded chicken or pork. I sometimes use this roast-pork variation. Feel free to try other main-dish sauces with pork cooked in the same way.