Mains · By James
Chili Verde, with Pork
This is Uncle Bill's recipe, discovered and served to our combined families at a holiday get-together in San Jose del Cabo, December, 2022. It was an immediate hit, taking soft tacos to a whole new level! The profusion of green things in this chili creates such vibrant flavors! Our times abroad as families have been memorable (and there have been many times over the years), sharing over amazing ethnic meals!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1.4 kg) boneless, skinless pork shoulder, cut into 1–1.5 inch cubes (fat removed)
- 2 tbsp (12 g) kosher salt, divided; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight
- 5 poblano peppers (halved and seeded)
- 5 banana or Anaheim peppers (halved and seeded)
- 2–3 large serrano peppers (left whole — seeds needed for some spicy heat in the chili)
- 2 pounds tomatillos (about 15 medium; 910 g)
- 6 whole garlic cloves (30 g), peeled
- 3 cups loosely-packed cilantro leaves
- 2 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large white onion, finely diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 cups (475 ml) chicken stock
- ½ cup sour cream
- Several limes (cut in wedges)
- Corn tortillas
Method
- 1
Pat dry your pork pieces with paper towel. In large bowl, toss pork with 2 tablespoons salt until thoroughly coated. Set aside at room temperature for 1.5–2 hours.
- 2
Meanwhile, roast all peppers on BBQ until charred on all surfaces. Transfer to bowl of food processor.
- 3
Grill tomatillos until charred, blistered, and softened. Transfer to the food processor.
- 4
Add garlic cloves and ½ of the cilantro to the food processor.
- 5
Blend roasted peppers, tomatillos, garlic, and cilantro briefly — leave a little texture. (You can add some of the chicken broth at this point to help the blending if it's too thick to blend easily.)
- 6
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 275°F (135°C).
- 7
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large oval Dutch oven (or large stock pot) over high heat on your stove, until smoking. Add as much of the pork as needed to cover the bottom of the pot (spread around so all pieces are in contact with base of pot) and cook without moving until well browned on one side, about 7 minutes.
- 8
Add any remaining pork (no need to brown this, since there is enough browned flavor from browning the rest of the pork) and most of the diced onion (save ½ cup onion to sprinkle on tortillas when serving). Cook, stirring frequently and scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, until onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Add cumin and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- 9
Add chicken stock and blended chili/tomatillo mixture from the food processor to pot. Stir to combine, while bringing it to a boil. Then cover, and transfer to oven, leaving lid slightly ajar. Cook until sauce is thickened and pork shreds with a fork, about 3 hours.
- 10
Remove from oven and return to stovetop. The stew should be thick, viscous, but if too thick add a bit more broth.
- 11
Stir in remaining cilantro (leaving about ½ cup of leaves for sprinkling on the tortillas when stew is served), and season to taste with more salt.
- 12
Serve in individual bowls, with warm corn tortillas. Have diced white onion, sour cream, cilantro, and lime wedges on the side. The stew is spooned into warm tortillas, topped with condiments and a squirt of fresh lime.
A note from James
Option: pair this green chili with the red (adovada) chili — you will have a wonderful contrast of chili flavors/colors! Chili can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; flavor will improve with time. Drink/wine pairing: red wine of any type, for whites a Riesling or Gewürztraminer, or a Mexican beer (try a Negra Modelo).
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