Chile Verde

I kind of freestyled the chili so I don’t have an exact recipe but here is the general idea:

Get a 3 lb pork shoulder (preferably bone-in as it adds more flavor), let it come to room temp, flame grill on each side for 3 minutes (if you don’t have a grill then searing it on a pan will work).

Grill 4 poblano, 4 Anaheim, and 4 jalapeno peppers (or in the oven) until charred. Once off the grill, place the peppers in a bag or a covered bowl to steam for 10 minutes. This allows you to remove the burnt skin layer easily (but keep a little of those burnt bits as we want that nice smoky flavor)

Broil around 15-20 medium-sized tomatillos in the oven until browned. 

On the stove… get a large pot and heat up 2 tbsp oil (I used olive oil but any will work) and drop in 2 large diced onions. After 4 minutes on medium-high heat, add 6 crushed garlic cloves and cook for a minute. 

In another pan, gently heat 1 tbsp whole coriander seeds & 1 tbsp whole cumin seeds until fragrant. Crush those up into a fine powder. Mortar and pestle/coffee grinder will work. 

To the large pot, add the coriander, cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp dried onion, 1 tbsp red chili flakes, 1 tbsp hatch chili flakes, and around 8 turns on a pepper shaker. Let the spices cook for another minute with the onion/garlic mixture. Add 5 cups of chicken stock and 2 beef bouillon cubes for extra flavor. Add in 1 bunch of chopped cilantro. 

For a chunky chili – mash the tomatillos with a potato masher, and chop up the peppers to your desired size, then add to the large pot. 

For a smoother chili, I added the tomatillos/peppers/cilantro to the large pot then blended with an immersion blender to the desired consistency.  

*Side note: If you can get Hatch Chile (they sell it in a very large jar at Costco) put around 1/3 cup of that into the large pot.*

Place the pork shoulder into the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring the heat down to a simmer. Stir the pot every once in a while to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Remove any scum that comes to the top of the pot. You’ll want to simmer for around 3 hours. Let the stew reduce by placing the lid slightly ajar.

Take the meat out, remove the bone if you have it, and start shredding. Then place the meat back in and cook for another 15 minutes. 

Now in a separate sauce pan, we’ll make a roux to thicken up the chili. Cook 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup masa harina on medium-high heat. Keep stirring the mixture around until it bubbles, then add the roux to the large pot. Cook the chili for another 15 minutes. 

Add the juice of a lime (or two) and salt to taste. 

Toppings:

I highly recommend getting a red onion, finely slicing it, adding some lime juice and salt, letting that mixture sit for a bit until the juices run purple, and adding it on top of the chili. 

Avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese, lime juice, and some chips if you’re feeling it!

Feel free to play around with it and season to your liking. It always tastes better the next day 🙂 

** The next year I added hominy, 4 cans. I also added epazote!**