I have to say that for something with “Chile” in the title, it doesn’t have many chiles in it.
I have a feeling the next time I make this, I’ll be adding a lot more chiles. I may even do the unthinkable and add mushrooms. I love mushrooms.
Another for don’t skip the broiling of the tomatillos.
I hate this step myself. (Actually I hate handling tomatillos period.) It helps to think of it as a labor of love.
Also, I don’t mind the fat in the pork butt. That pork can dry out rather easily.
I also like to garnish my bowl with chunks of mexican cheese. I wish I knew what the hell it is called. I just know it when I see it at the grocery.
It comes in a little rouind hockey puck looking thing.
It’s simmering now.
I did broil the tomatillos, and it smelled awesome!! Thanks for the advice.
Note to self: Get a food processor. Chopping the peppers, tomatillos and chiles took what seemed like forever.
2nd note to self: See if you can buy the pork already chopped up. That was a 2nd forever.
But it sure smells good. Not sure if I can wait 2-3 hours…
Queso fresco, aka queso blanco.
I would cut way back on the oregano they call for. I use a dash of tyme, a dash of cumin, and a dash of oregano, normal salt and pepper. For some reason the spices can easily overwhelm this dish.
This is a pretty large portion of CV, so I think it might be OK. I used slightly less than the 1 tbls called for.
Just tasted some broth. I don’t think the oregano will be a problem.
Yeah, for that amount of stew, a tablespoon of oregano won’t be a problem. But I really would only use Mexican oregano, if there is any option. As mentioned above, it is a completely different herb from oregano, despite the similar name. They have some similarities, much in the way, say, thyme and savory are similar, but Mexican oregano has a more citrusy character to it. I don’t know how to describe it, exactly, but it’s definitely different. When I try using Mexican oregano in Mediterranean dishes, it tastes wrong to me, and vice versa. Not that it tastes bad, just not what I’m expecting.
Glad you went with roasting the tomatillos.
It was pretty good, but I was a little disappointed that some of the meat was almost tasteless. One thing I did differently from the recipe was that after about 2 hrs of simmering uncovered, the meat was not tender yet, but I didn’t want it to cook down any more, so I covered it and simmered it for another 30 minutes.
Now, some of the meat was quite good, but some of it was just blah. Could that be fat content? I really went wild cutting the fat off most of it.
Anyway, it was still good, and I’ve got lots of leftovers.
The only suggestion I would make would be, instead of browning the pork in a skillet, grill it on a gas grill for more flavor.
I guess it depends what you mean by “tasteless,” but, yes, stewed meat does lose a lot of its meatiness in the broth it’s stewing in. That’s not really unusual.
It could be, but as long as the piece was well-marbled, it shouldn’t make that much a difference. Did the good tasting pieces seem fatty to you? I love fat, but for me, fat doesn’t really taste “meaty,” but kind of fatty (in a good way, though.)
I’ve never been a huge fan of chunks of pork as a stew meat for that reason. I prefer a much longer stew with the shoulder cut into three or four pieces only, and shredded pulled pork style at the end. Best enchilada sauce ever.
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
pulykamell: I know that stewed meat can become a bit bland, but some of the meat was absolutely tasteless-- like chunks of “nothing”. The good stuff didn’t taste especially fatty, it was just “tasty” in a juicy kind of way. So I guess the dichotomy is better described as “dry vs juicy”. But the dry was also tasteless.
Still, the sauce was every bit as good as any I’ve had in a Mexican restaurant. I never knew it was tomatillos that gave it that flavor. Of course, I’ve never cooked with the little suckers before, either. Not so much fun to work with, but a nice, unique flavor.
I’m one of those who picks up the soapy taste from cilantro; would parsley work as a substitute?
No. Just forget the whole thing.
I would just leave it out, you’ll still get something pretty good. You could bump up the peppers or add a bit of lime or cumin to bring the flavor up a bit.
I’d agree. Just leave it out, it’ll be fine.
I actually had some leftovers last night, just over rice. And I didn’t notice any of the tasteless meat this time. Maybe I was imagining things.
The leftovers were really, really good.
This thread inspired me to make some last night, and it turned out crazy good. I don’t normally use tomatillos in mine, just a huge batch of Poblanos and I also add 4-5 tomatoes early on and let them cook down. I tried the tomatillo version and threw it all in the food processor so it’s a thinner consistency than what I usually make. I don’t know what cut of meat you used, John Mace, but I typically use the pork loin country style boneless ribs. They’re usually pretty cheap, about $3 a pound, and have a really good flavor without being overly fatty.
My normal made-up recipe is as follows:
10-12 large Poblano peppers, broiled until the skin is black, throw them into a plastic bag to steam, remove seeds and skin. Chop roughly
4-5 large tomatoes, cut into quarters
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 package country style boneless ribs, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper
2-3 Anaheim chiles prepared like the Poblanos
With olive oil in a pan, begin cooking the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and pork until the pork has browned slightly. Add the tomatoes and chiles and salt and pepper to taste. It should cook down over an hour on medium heat until it reaches a more uniform consistency. There should be enough liquid from the chiles and tomatoes to give it a thick soup consistency, but when you first add everything it will seem a little rough. You can add some water to get everything moving and then just let it cook off later.
ETA: No, I don’t use recipes, why do you ask? If any of this is confusing let me know…