Top Your Sopes with Carne Adobada

Top Your Sopes with Carne Adobada
May 7, 2026

This recipe comes to us from longtime Masienda community member Mariana de la Rosa. Her cooking is rooted in memory—an ongoing way of honoring her mom through the dishes she grew up with and continues to make her own. Along the way, she’s even learned to nixtamalize corn, deepening her connection to process, tradition, and flavor.

Her mother's recipe for carne adobada reflects that kind of cooking. Dried chiles, garlic, and spices come together into a marinade that slowly works its way into the pork, cooking down until it’s tender, rich, and just a little caramelized at the edges. Served atop sopes (which you can form by hand or with the aid of a tortilla press), with a simple salsa de molcajete, it’s a meal that carries both flavor and story—meant to be shared and passed on.

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Carne Adobada Sopes with Salsa de Molcajete (Stewed Pork Sopes)

Carne Adobada Sopes with Salsa de Molcajete (Stewed Pork Sopes)

Mariana De La Rosa

Servings

10-12 sopes

Category

Sopes

Ingredients

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    • 6 guajillo chiles, stems, seeds, and veins removed

    • 2 pasilla chiles, stems, seeds, and veins removed

    • ½ tbsp Mexican oregano

    • ½ tsp ground cumin

    • ½ tsp ground cloves

    • ¼ tsp ground black pepper

    • ½ tablespoon sazón seasoning with coriander and annatto (or 1 packet Goya sazón)

    • 1 tbsp white vinegar

    • 2 garlic cloves

    • ½ tbsp chicken bouillon powder

    • Salt to taste

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    • 3 lbs pork, sliced into thin strips or small cubes

    • 1-1.5 tbsp salt, to taste

    • Oil or lard, for cooking

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    • 3 Roma tomatoes

    • 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled

    • 1–2 chiles de árbol

    • ¼ white onion

    • Coarse salt, to taste

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    • Sopes

    • Optional toppings: diced white onion, chopped cilantro, shredded quesillo

    Directions

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      1. Place the guajillo and pasilla chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for about 20 minutes, until softened.

      2. Transfer the softened chiles to a blender along with the oregano, cumin, cloves, black pepper, sazón, vinegar, garlic, chicken bouillon, and salt. Blend until completely smooth, adding a splash of the soaking liquid if needed. Strain the adobo if you’d like a perfectly smooth texture.

      3. Season the pork with salt, then add the marinade and mix until fully coated. Cover and marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

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      1. Heat a comal or skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic (in their skins), onion, and chiles de árbol. Cook until softened and charred in spots, turning as needed. Remove each item as it’s finished cooking, taking care not to burn the chiles.

      2. In a molcajete, grind the chiles de árbol with a pinch of salt until broken down.

      3. Peel the garlic and add it to the molcajete. Grind until smooth, then add the onion and continue grinding.

      4. Add the tomatoes and mash to your desired texture, somewhere between chunky and saucy.

      5. Taste and adjust salt before serving.

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      1. Heat a large pan over medium heat with a bit of oil or lard. Add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked through and lightly caramelized at the edges.

      2. Serve warm on a sope or tortillas, topped with salsa.

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