Adobo Mojado

This is my recipe for the excessively garlicky Latin American wet marinade adobo mojado. It can be knocked together in a matter of minutes with some basic kitchen ingredients but that doesn’t make it lacklustre. It’s absoloutly loaded with punchy garlic and subtle spicing!

It is one of the best, wet meat marinades you’ll ever come across – especially if you’re a lover of garlic, like myself. It’s particularly decent with fatty cuts of meat like pork shoulder or pork chops. I’ve even used it on turkey cutlets and fish fillets. It’s that versatile!

What’s In Adobo Mojado?

It might sound exotic but the ingredients you need to make your own adobo mojado couldn’t be simpler. You’ve probably got them sitting in your kitchen right now.

• 12 Garlic Cloves: If your adobo mojado isn’t loaded with garlic that you can smell a mile off then you’re not making it right. It should be and needs to be garlicky. Please avoid garlic powder. Fresh ingredients will give you a much punchier flavour.
• 1 tbsp Salt: Salt isn’t just used as a seasoning here but it also helps to break the garlic down in a pestle and mortar.
• 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns: Peppercorns add a subtle heat to the background of the marinade.
• 2 tbsp Dried Oregano: Although you could use fresh herbs, dried oregano tends to break down easily into the marinade.
• 1 tbsp Paprika: Paprika adds a smokiness to the flavour but also a red hue to the appearance of the marinade.
• 2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar: With all that garlic, you need a little vinegar to balance things out. This will also help to tenderise the meat you marinate. You could use red wine vinegar or even lime juice.
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil: This is supposed to be a wet rub, and that’s where olive oil comes in.

How to Make Adobo Mojado

Step 1: This is quite a laborious task but it’s essential for any decent adobo mojado. You need to peel 12 garlic cloves and then chop them up into 3 or 4 chunks. Please don’t buy the ready-prepared stuff. It’s both overpriced and bland!

Step 2: Add the 12 prepared garlic cloves to a large pestle and mortar and then pound to a paste with the salt. The salt will give the mortar a rougher texture which will help to break the garlic down. You’re looking for a coarse paste.

Yes, you can use a food processor if you want but I find this gives you too much of a puree texture. I like my adobo mojado to have some texture to it.

Step 3: Add the remaining dry ingredients to the mortar and pound away with the pestle until it is all completely broken down into a paste.

Step 4: Pour the vinegar and oil into the mortar and then stir it and grind until has come together into a thick yet wet paste. You want it to be loose enough that you can spread it but thick enough that it will stick to the meat you’re marinating.