New Mexico Red Chile

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

2 medium onions, chopped (about 3 cups)

6 large garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds boned pork shoulder (butt), trimmed and meat cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup ground dried red New Mexico chiles (I used 8 pods seeds removed which yielded 1/3 cup when ground)

4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large, heavy-bottomed, ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until onions are golden, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer onions and garlic to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, cumin, and pepper. Add pork and toss to coat. Return pot to medium-high heat, add remaining 1 tbsp. oil, and working in batches, lightly brown meat on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Transfer meat to a separate bowl as you go.

Return onions and garlic to pot. Grind dried chile pods in a food processor. Sprinkle onion mixture with ground chiles and cook, stirring, 2 minutes (mixture will be thick). Add broth, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of pot. Whirl sauce in a blender until smooth. Return sauce to pot and add bay leaf and reserved pork.

Cover pot, put in oven, and cook 1 hour. Set lid slightly ajar and cook until pork is fork-tender, about 1 hour more. Remove bay leaf before serving.