Asado de Boda translates to Wedding Stew. It is a special Mexican dish composed of fried pork that is simmered in a rich sauce of guajillo peppers, ancho peppers, orange peel, avocado seed, and other ingredients. The dish is also known as Asado de Puerco, which translates to Pork Stew.
Recipes for Asado de Boda will vary across Mexico and Mexican families. However, in this blog post, I share the style of Asado de Boda that I grew up eating.
Asado de Boda from San Luis Potosí
Asado de Boda
San Luis Potosí is located in North-Central Mexico and it is also the birth state of my grandfather, Candelario Moreno. My grandfather and grandmother were both experts at making this dish. It was a special treat to arrive at their home and find that they had both prepared the Wedding Stew.
Asado de Boda is special for many reasons. As its name implies, it is often associated with weddings. Despite its name, this special dish also makes appearances in other auspicious occasions such as baptisms, communions, and quinceñeras, just to name a few.
Asado de Boda is not only elaborate in its flavors, but it also requires time and patience to cook. On average, the dish requires one hour of preparation time and one hour of cook time. My first experience cooking this dish was a step by step lesson in Asado de Boda taught by my cousin, Claudia. She is well versed in cooking this dish in the exact style prepared by our grandparents.
Abuelito Candelario Moreno and Abuelita Hijinia Moreno
Asado de Boda is extra special to me, because it was one of my grandfather’s favorite dishes. It is also one of the many dishes that I remember my grandparents cooking. I am grateful to cousin Claudia for teaching me the foundations of a dish that reminds me so fondly of both grandparents. Though both of my grandparents may be gone, I feel their spirit as I cook traditional recipes, such as this one.
In an effort to ensure that my lesson in Asado de Boda did not go awry, I documented every ingredient and step required of this dish and have prepared it two times since my first lesson. I have the seal of approval of several Foodie-Friends who valiantly tasted my rendition of this recipe. I only hope my version of Asado de Puerco is as delicious as my Abuelitos once prepared. Following is the recipe for this Mexican stew.
Asado de Boda, San Luis Potosí style.
Asado de Boda
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 10 ancho peppers
- 10 guajillo peppers
- 4 cups water to boil peppers, reserve 2 cups after
boiling - 1/2 medium onion
- 2.5 tsp cumin
- 2.5 tsp oregano
- 2 medium orange peels
- 1/2 avocado seed
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Fried Pork
- 5 lbs pork butt or pork shoulder, cut in 1 inch pieces
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 5-7 bay leaves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp pork fat
Instructions
Asado de Boda Sauce Recipe
- Remove seeds and stems from 10 guajillo and 10
ancho peppers. I use my hands to remove the seeds and stems, however, a
cutting board and knife can also be used. The seeds in the chiles contain
the heat source in these peppers. Caution should be used to not touch the
eyes. Novices should wear gloves as extra caution. - Rinse peppers and bring to a boil with 4 cups of
water in a 3 quart sauce pan. Cook peppers on high heat and bring to a
boil. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. - After the peppers have cooked, strain the
peppers using a colander. Reserve 2 cups of water and set aside.
Dispose the remaining liquid. Add peppers to the blender. - In addition to the peppers, add the following
ingredients to the blender: 2½ teaspoons oregano, 2½ teaspoons
cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ medium onion, ½ avocado
seed, and 2 medium orange peels. Note that this recipes calls for
the Orange Peel, not orange zest. The entire orange peel in this recipe
will thicken the sauce and add the signature orange flavor to the Wedding Stew.
Use the peel of 2 medium oranges or the peel of 1 large orange in this recipe. - Blend all ingredients with 1 - 1½ cups of the
reserve pepper water. If your mixture requires more water, I recommend
adding by the ¼ cup. Do not add more than 2 cups of water to this
mixture. - Once all ingredients are blended, the sauce must be strained using a mesh strainer. Gather a bowl large enough to hold the sauce that will be strained. Straining the sauce will filter any gritty ingredients in the sauce. Once the blended mixture has been strained, the sauce should be smooth. Set the sauce aside and dispose of the gritty ingredients that were strained.
Fried Pork Recipe
- Chop the pork butt or pork shoulder into bite size pieces, approximately 1 inch
in size. I prefer to use pork butt in this recipe, but pork shoulder
is another option for this dish. If your cut of pork is excessively
fatty, I recommend trimming some of the fat. In my experience, a
premium cut of pork will not have excessive fat. Once all of the
pork has been chopped, add to a bowl and rinse thoroughly. Drain the
pork of any excess water. Note, wearing gloves during this process
makes clean up easier and reduces any cross contamination. - Add 3 tablespoons of pork fat into a 4 quart pan on medium-high heat. Once the pork fat melts, add the chopped pork. The pork fat will melt quickly, so use caution not to burn the fat.
- Add 8-10 garlic cloves and 5-7 bay leaves to the pork. Stir all of the ingredients as they begin to fry in the pork fat for 2 - 3 minutes. Reduce to a low-medium heat and cover with the pan's lid.
- Check on the pork every 15 - 20 minutes and stir. The pork will release liquid. Do not remove the liquid. The pork needs to cook in its juices and the liquid will reduce on its own.
- After 45 minutes to one hour of cook time, the liquid will reduce and the pork will begin to fry. Once the pork has begun to fry, the pork is ready for its sauce.
- Add the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Total pun intended.
- Optional, add additional kosher salt as desired.
- Serve Asado de Boda with a side of rice and corn tortillas and enjoy!
Tools to Use for your Asado de Boda:
1 blender
1 colander
Ancho and guajillo peppers should be cooked for 15 – 20 minutes
The blended sauce must be strained to achieve a smooth sauce for the Wedding Stew.
Both pork butt and pork shoulder are the cuts of meat used in traditional Asado de Boda.
The use of pork fat provides a superb flavor to this dish.
Ancho Chile Peppers
Guajillo Chile Peppers
Orange peel is used to create the Asado de Boda’s signature sauce.
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