StewsMedium

Asado de Boda (Zacatecan Wedding Stew)

Name: Asado de Boda (Zacatecan Wedding Stew)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 130 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1000 g Pork (pierna o espaldilla); 6 Chillies ancho secos; 4 Dried guajillo chillies; 30 g Mexican chocolate; 5 g Ground cumin; 1 Cinnamon stick; 4 cloves Garlic; 1 White onion; 50 g Pork lard; 10 g Salt

130 min (40 prep + 90 cook) Medium 8 servings Zacatecas

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 20 Mar 2026 · Updated: 16 Apr 2026

Traditional Zacatecan pork stew in a dried chilli and chocolate sauce served at celebrations.

About this recipe

Asado de boda is the most iconic dish of Zacatecas. It is made with pork cooked in a sauce of ancho and guajillo chillies enriched with chocolate, cinnamon and cumin. Its name comes from its starring role at wedding banquets in the region, though today it is enjoyed at any celebration.

History & Origin

Asado de boda is the most emblematic dish of the state of Zacatecas and one of the oldest stews in northern Mexico. Its name reveals its original social function: it was the centrepiece at rural wedding banquets, where entire communities gathered to celebrate. The recipe has roots in the fusion of indigenous cookery with Spanish culinary techniques of the sixteenth century. Dried chillies, chocolate and spices combine in a complex sauce reminiscent of mole but with a character of its own, earthier and less sweet. At traditional Zacatecan weddings, the families of bride and groom shared responsibilities: some provided the pork, others the chillies, and the most experienced women directed the preparation in large clay pots. The stew was served with red rice and pot beans, accompanied by Zacatecan tamborazo music. Although it is now consumed throughout the year, it remains indispensable at weddings, christenings and fifteenth birthday celebrations in Zacatecas, Durango and Aguascalientes. Each family guards its own version of the recipe, passed down through generations.

Estimated cost

£12.50

Total cost

£1.56

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

485

Calories

35g

Protein

22g

Carbohydrates

28g

Fat

Fibre

620mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Cut the cerdo into medium pieces and cuecelo in water with salt, garlic and onion for 45 minutes until this tender. Set aside the stock.
💡 La espaldilla queda mas jugosa that the pierna for this guiso.
2
Deseed and soak the chillies ancho and guajillo in hot water for 20 minutes until esten soft.
💡 Toast the chillies slightly before of remojar for intensificar the flavour.
3
Licua the chillies with a little its water of remojo, the garlic, the cinnamon, the cumin and the chocolate until you get a smooth sauce.
💡 Strain the sauce for eliminar restos of skin of chilli.
4
Heat the lard in a cazuela large and frie the sauce for 10 minutes stirring constantly for that not pegue.
💡 La sauce should oscurecerse and espesar to the freirse.
5
Add the trozos of cerdo cooked a the sauce and anade stock enough for cubrir the meat. Cook over medium heat 30 minutes.
6
Adjust the sazon with salt and serve hot acompanado of rice red and tortillas of maiz.
💡 El roasted sabe mejor to the day siguiente when the flavours concentran.