I have a large pork shoulder roast in the freezer that I’m going to turn into chili verde. I have a recipe, but would like to see what other Dopers do. So lay it on me.
I used to have a formal recipe- it’s been awhile. IIRC- I would cut the pork in cubes, salt & pepper, and brown them in jalapenos and garlic. Then I’d add the pork/jalapeno mixture, chopped green chilis, cumin into a crockpot, maybe some chicken stock (not much) then add a 1/2 can of beer and cook all day.
Although this is not chili verde- I think this recipe could easily be converted to Pork and I have to say it’s one of the best chili/cumin flavorings I’ve enjoyed. I may just make the chicken alone next time, to stuff in burritos. The flavor was almost idential to the stellar chicken & green chili burritos I can get at my favorite taco shop.
Sorta depends what kind of Chile Verde you’re looking for. I make two kinds - one that gets Verdeness (ha!) from green chiles, the other gets it from tomatillos.
For the green chile one, I get whatever green chiles I can find in this Green-Chile-Forsaken northern town - typically Poblanos or Anaheims or a mixture of both - and roast 'em, let 'em cool, peel 'em & dice 'em up. If I could get Hatches or something more like Hatches, I would use those.
Meanwhile, cut the pork up into chunks, season with salt & pepper, brown, remove from pan. Next, saute up a big white onion (diced), add some garlic, add some cumin, add the chiles, add the pork back in. Cover with some stock or a beer. Maybe throw in a can of diced tomatoes - not too many, because I don’t want it to be a tomato based sauce. Juice a lime and throw that in. Salt, pepper, cover, let cook until the pork is nice & tender.
If I’m doing the tomatillo base, I roast the tomatillos, and make it similar to the above. I’d probably throw a few green chiles in too, just for some flavor & heat. Or a can of diced jalepenos, if I’m lazy. I like the sour tomatillo taste to come through the most in this chile, so I don’t go overboard on the other stuff.
I also tend not to use a lot of pork in either of these recipes; I want the meat to be part of the stew, but I want the chiles/tomatillos to be at least equal.
Yum, Chile Verde…
Dang- I knew it had been a long time, thanks to Athena, I remembered now where the liquid came from. Scratch chicken stock, add Tomatillos :).
Now I might have to make some with the above recipes, probably with limited Tomatillos though since my SO is a veggie hater :(.
My approach is pretty much identical to Athena’s, except I also roast the garlic with the tomatillos and puree them without peeling. I also like to add a bit of Mexican oregano to the dish, and a pinch (1/8 teaspoon or less) of cloves. Sometimes, I’ll puree the tomatillo and garlic with fresh cilantro, as well. I’ll use about a good pound to pound and a half of anaheims or poblano (or a mix) to three or four pounds of shoulder with three or four jalapenos thrown in (and about the same amount by weight of tomatillos, if using). Roasting them, bagging them, and peeling them is key to developing a good flavor. The anaheims around here aren’t the most flavorful, so I’m usually more apt to use poblanos, although those taste quite different than the Hatch chiles used in something like New Mexican Green Chili. But it’s all good.
Excellent. This is just the input I’m looking for. The pork is thawing, so keep them coming.
I add my vote to the propositions above of using both Anaheim and poblano chiles. The last time I made chili verde, I roasted, peeled and tossed in some poblanos and the flavor complexity went way up. The addition of lime juice is also a winner.
I also like to add chopped cilantro at the beginning of the cooking time, as it adds a flavor layer and greenifies the end result.
Speaking of things chili: Has anybody else tried the new Penzey’s Chili 9000? Now this is some good stuff. For those who don’t want to click, it contains the following:
Ancho Chili Pepper, Cumin, Garlic, Cilantro, Onion, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Lemon Peel, Mexican Oregano, Black Pepper, Cocoa Powder, Citric Acid, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Coriander, Ginger, Natural Smoke Flavoring, Fenugreek, Cloves, Fennel, Nutmeg, White Pepper, Anise Seed, Jalapeño Pepper, Star Anise, Cardamom.
It’s extremely flavorful and is terrific on things like breakfast burritos (I season my bacon) and nachos. Note the absence of salt.
Is peeling the peppers really essential? Seems like a lotta bother.
Yes. You blacken the things pretty good when you do this (something like this) so, unless you really like the bitter taste of charcoal in your food, you’re best off peeling them. Plus the texture of the skin isn’t really appetizing, either.
Looks like somebody mixed some chile powder and curry powder together. 
(The “natural smoke flavoring” kinda ruins it for me, though. But I’d be willing to give it a shot, especially since it’s Penzey’s.)
I look at the smoke flavoring to be a substitute for chipotle powder, which is glaringly absent from this blend. This is a very mild chili powder, but long on flavor.
And not hard to find. I have a bottle of McCormick’s.
Chili 9000 is quite good. The wife used a bunch in the chili she made last week, in fact.
That’s kinda what I figured. Wonder why they didn’t just go for chipotles. Anyhow, liquid smoke or “natural smoke flavoring” tends to taste a little sooty/sharp to me (so much so, I avoid about 95% of commercial barbecue sauces, because almost all have it), but if it’s not overdone, I can tolerate it.
Once they’re roasted, the peels pretty much come right off. It’s not a bother at all. And yes, it’s essential, unless you like little pieces of burnt, sharp skin in your chile.
I don’t detect any smokiness, so it must be a small quantity. The sweetness of other ingredients like cinnamon and cocoa must mellow it out completely.
But is roasting the peppers essential? Why not just chop and sautee, like with the onion and garlic?
In my opinion, yes. Roasted peppers are SOOOOO much tastier than regular peppers. I would not skip this step.
Agreed. Roasting vegetables seems to cause them to change flavor. It’s the only way I can eat asparagus.