Chipotle Adobo Paste
My version of the adobo paste Chipotle used for its old-school chicken, steak and beans, made from dried Morita chiles, charred garlic and a few spices. It makes about 3 ½ cups in about an hour, most of it cleaning the chiles, and what you don't use right away freezes for up to a year.
Servings 14 servings (¼ cup each)
Calories 50kcal
Equipment
- 1 12-inch frying pan
Ingredients
Adobo Paste
- 8 oz dried Chipotle Morita peppers
- 4 cloves garlic skin on; use 6 if small
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Mediterranean oregano McCormick's brand; not Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon Morton kosher salt
Instructions
Make the Adobo Paste
- Cut the dried Morita peppers in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, stems, and ribs. You don't need to get every last seed, but remove as many as possible. The seeds don't blend well and can taste bitter.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the dried chiles and stir continuously for 4 to 5 minutes until they're fragrant. Do not burn them.
- Transfer the toasted chiles to a large bowl, cover with hot water, and seal with plastic wrap. Rehydrate for 15 to 20 minutes until the peppers are plump and soft.
- While the peppers soak, heat a dry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves with their skin on and char them, turning every few minutes, until the skin is blackened all over. This takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove, cool, and peel.
- Add the water, rehydrated chiles, roasted garlic, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and salt to a blender. Blend on medium speed until you achieve a thick paste slightly looser than tomato paste. Add more water a little at a time if needed. Scrape down the sides to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Taste the adobo and adjust seasoning with extra salt, black pepper, or cumin. This recipe makes about 3 ½ cups. Store unused paste in covered containers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to a year.
Video
Notes
How much you'll use: This makes about 3 ½ cups. The chicken in my Chipotle burrito bowl and the steak in my steak burrito each take ¼ to ½ cup, and a pot of beans takes 2 tablespoons. It's a lot of work, so make the whole batch and freeze the rest in small portions.
It isn't meant to be eaten on its own: The paste doesn't taste good by itself. It goes into the chicken, the steak and the beans as a seasoning and marinade, so taste it in one of those before you change anything.
The dried peppers: Both Moritas and Mecos are smoked, dried jalapeños. Buy Morita chiles that bend without breaking. If they crumble or snap, they're too dried out. Moritas are picked earlier and smoked for a shorter time than Mecos, so they're sweeter and less smoky.
The chile water: You can blend the paste with the water the chiles rehydrated in, but taste it first. If it's bitter, use fresh water.
Canned chipotles: You can use canned chipotles in adobo instead: start at the blender step and use the canned peppers and their sauce in place of the chiles. They're packed in a sauce with tomatoes and vinegar, so it won't taste like Chipotle's. Chipotle powder won't work in an adobo like this.
The oregano: From what people who've worked at Chipotle have said, they use McCormick's Mediterranean oregano. Mexican oregano has a stronger flavor.
The salt: People who've worked at Chipotle have said it uses Morton's coarse kosher salt, so the salt on this card is Morton kosher salt (about 4.8 grams a teaspoon). If you only have Morton table salt, use about a fifth less by the spoon.
Storage: 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge, the same as other homemade sauces, or up to a year in the freezer.
Made this? Tap a star at the top of this card to rate it.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 50kcal