Why This Recipe Works?
Most recipes only call for char-roasting the green chilies, but I roast the tomatillos and aromatics as well. This brings out the sweetness and umami in the tomatillos while giving the garlic and onions an earthier flavor. Marinating the pork before browning ensures that the meat is well seasoned, and it allows the spices to toast, bringing out their aroma. Using homemade chicken stock in the green chili sauce doubles up on the umami in the sauce. A small amount of honey balances out the acidity of the tomatillos.
Ingredients for Chile Verde
Chili Peppers - Since this is green chile, I like to use a variety of green chili peppers. Poblano chile peppers are dark green and have a strong green pepper taste and a mild bitterness, but they don’t have much heat. For that, I’ve used jalapeno peppers. The thing with jalapenos is that they have a huge range of heat levels depending on how they are grown. These were small but extremely spicy (approaching habanero levels of heat), so I only added a few. I recommend roasting some extras and adding a few at a time until you hit a level of heat you’re happy with. Other chilies that work well for this dish are Anaheim peppers and green Hatch chilies. Aromatics - Onions and garlic make almost anything taste better, and Chile Verde is no exception. I roasted two yellow onions and a whole head of garlic in a hot oven or a broiler until they were lightly charred. This brought out their sweetness and umami and imparted a wonderful smoky flavor. Tomatillos - Fresh tomatillos can be a little hard to find outside of the Americas, but these are an essential ingredient in Chile Verde, giving it its tangy taste and fruity flavor. It won’t be quite the same, but if you can’t find them, green (unripe) tomatoes will work in a pinch. Cilantro - I know not everyone likes cilantro, so you can leave it out if you must, but for me, this is an important flavor component for this chili. Pork - I like using boneless pork shoulder because it has a good balance of meat, fat, and connective tissue. After cooking it, the tender pieces of pork become fork-tender. I don’t recommend using leaner cuts of pork for any stew like this because the long cooking times will force out most of the meat’s moisture. The meat ends up dry and pasty without collagen and fat to lubricate it. Spare ribs will also work, but you end up with much less meat because of the bones. Pork belly is another option, but this tends to be a little too fatty. Spices - For spices, I keep it simple with cumin and cinnamon. The trick is to marinate the pork with them, so when you brown the pork, you can toast the spices at the same time, bringing out their fragrance. Herbs - I used a combination of Mexican oregano and a bay leaf, but a small amount of epazote is also nice in Chile Verde if you can find it near you. Honey - Sweetness helps balance the acidity, and the small amount of honey in this recipe isn’t enough to make the chile overtlysweet, but it does mellow out the sharp tang of the tomatillos. Chicken Stock - I used homemade chicken stock, but canned chicken, pork, or vegetable stock will work fine.
How to Make Chile Verde Sauce
Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Mine only goes up to 540 F (280 C), but if yours has a broil setting, that will work best. Now you need to prepare the vegetables and roast them. Set the Anaheim peppers, Poblano peppers, Jalapeños, and quartered onions on a baking sheet. It’s important to use a skewer or knife to poke holes in the chilies, or they will explode in the oven. These go in the oven and roast for about eight to ten minutes or until the skin on the peppers have blistered and started to char. Remove the pan from the oven, flip everything except the onions over, and char the second side for about the same amount of time. When they’re done, transfer the peppers to a bowl and let them cool enough to handle. For the tomatillos, remove their husks and stems and wash them thoroughly in cold water to remove the waxy sap on the outside. Line them up in a single layer on the baking sheet and poke holes in every tomatillo to keep them from bursting. Roast these for about ten to fifteen minutes or until the tops are charred. Remove the pan from the oven and let them cool for a bit. To clean the chili peppers, peel off any loose bits of skin and remove the stems. Split the peppers open and use a spoon to scrape out any seeds. The light green membranes that hold the seeds to the pod contain most of the capsaicin, so if you don’t want your chili too spicy, you can remove these as well. Put the cleaned peppers in a blender or food processor along with the onions, roasted tomatillos, and any accumulated juices, and puree the mixture (you may need to do this in batches). I recommend putting only some of the Jalapeños in first and then tasting the sauce before adding more.
How to Make Pork Chile Verde
The first thing you want to do is prepare a spice mixture by stirring the salt, ground cumin, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then, use your hand to mix the oil and grated garlic into the pork before sprinkling it evenly with the spice blend. Stir to distribute evenly, and set this aside while you prepare the other ingredients. Heat a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Cook the cubed pork in batches in a single layer with the fattiest part facing down. Let this fry undisturbed until it’s browned on one side and no longer sticking to the pot. Flip it over and brown the other side. Transfer the browned pork to a bowl and repeat until you’ve browned all of the pork. Return the pork to the pot and add the Chile Verde Sauce, 4 cups chicken stock, Mexican oregano, bay leaf, and chopped cilantro stems. Bring the mixture and then turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for one and a half hours. Stir the green chili periodically and use a spoon to skim off any scum or excess fat that floats to the surface. fter an hour and a half, taste the sauce and add more salt if necessary (remember it’s going to continue cooking for a while longer, so don’t overdo it). If the sauce tastes too acidic, add a teaspoon or two of honey to mellow it out. Let the Chile Verde simmer for another thirty minutes to an hour or until you can cut a piece of pork in half with a fork. UPDATED JUNE 22, 2023: I’ve made a few minor improvements to the recipe, so it no longer matches up perfectly with the video. Ingredient changes are using more pork, and cumin, using both Anaheim and Poblano Chiles, and adding honey only after tasting the chili. The only major process change is to add the garlic to the marinade with the pork instead of roasting it.
📖 Recipe
