Description
Slow Cooker Chile Verde from the American Southwest. Green chiles and pork - what's not to like?
Ingredients
Scale
Green Sauce
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 pound Anaheim chiles, halved, stemmed and seeded
- 2 green bell peppers, halved, stemmed and seeded
- 2 jalapeño peppers, halved and stemmed
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Chili
- 5 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade) or water
- 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
- Juice of 2 limes
- A couple dashes green hot sauce (optional, see notes)
Instructions
- Make the green sauce: Spread the tomatillos, anaheim chiles, bell peppers, and jalapeno peppers skin side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the baking sheet 6 inches below a broiler set to high, and broil until the tomatillos and peppers are blackened in spots, about 5 minutes. Flip the tomatillos and broil until the tomatillos are browned on the other side and the skins of the peppers are blackened all over, about another five minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the peppers cool for a few minutes, then peel the blackened skin from the peppers and discard. (A little leftover blackened skin is fine.) Pour the contents of the baking sheet into a blender or food processor, including as much of the liquid as possible. Add the cilantro and the teaspoon of Kosher salt, then blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Brown the pork: Sprinkle the pork evenly with the 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown the pork in two to three batches. Cook each batch for six minutes total, turning the pork halfway through the cooking time to brown it on two sides. Transfer the pork to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving as much fat behind as possible.
- Saute the aromatics and toast the spices: There should be 2 tablespoons of fat left in the pan; add more oil or pour out fat to get to 2 tablespoons. Add the onions to the fry pan and sprinkle with the 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Saute the onions until softened and starting to brown around the edges, about 3 minutes, scraping occasionally to release the browned pork bits from the bottom of the pot. Make a hole in the middle of the onions and add the garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano and brown sugar. Cook until you smell the garlic and spices, about one minute, then stir into the onions. Add the chicken broth and green sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.
- Slow cook the chili: Transfer the contents of the fry pan to the slow cooker. Stir the pork, pork juices, and crushed tortilla chips into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 hours or high heat for 5 hours.
- Serve the chili: Stir in the lime juice and hot sauce. Taste add more salt and pepper as necessary. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and more green hot sauce.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American