Go to just about any taqueria in the Southwestern United States or Mexico and chili verde will be on the menu. Chili verde is a basic Mexican meal, albeit with a somewhat sorted background. While the classic pork chili verde is based on Carne De Puerco En Chile Verde (translated as "pork with green chilies"), like classic chili with beef, chili verde dishes have taken many twists and turns.
The basics of chili verde are pretty simple. Essential to the dish is pork shoulder that is seared and then simmered in green things, including tomatillos, onions, and a few different chilies. The meat dish is a favorite filling for burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and totally delicious all on its own when served with white rice and flour tortillas.
Many recipes call for pureeing raw tomatillos, chilies and garlic, and blending them with the pork shoulder to cook. That's the fast method, but it lacks a certain southwest flavor. The secret to a genuine recipe is flame roasting the tomatillos, peppers and garlic to awaken the flavor.
There is no mistaking a fantastic chili verde. The delicious, tangy flavors of the "green mixture" are highlighted by the juicy goodness of tender, slow-cooked pork is pure South West heaven.
The way to make magic happen with this dish is to go 100% fresh and do everything by hand. That's how it's done down south, and it works. You brown or roast everything, which gives the dish its sweet, smoky, POW flavor. Plus, if you hand chop everything -- instead of taking them from a can or passing it through a food processor -- you get a wonderful chunky texture.
For me the tomatillos are a little too tart for my taste so I add 2 special ingredients that you don't find in most recipes. I didn't discover this on my own. I was introduced to the special flavor from a Mexican-American woman who makes fresh beef tamales that are absolutely out of this world.
The 2 special ingredients are honey and cinnamon. The honey tames the acidity and sourness from the tomatillos and peppers. The cinnamon brings out the flavor in the peppers and the other spices. Most people can't identify the flavor until you tell them what it is.
To make this recipe the tomatillos, garlic and peppers need to be roasted. Cut the tomatillos down the middle and place them cut side down on a metal cooking sheet, along with 6 unpeeled garlic cloves, 2 jalapeno peppers and two Anaheim or Poblano peppers. Put under a broiler for five to seven minutes to lightly blacken the outside. Take out of the oven. Put the chilies in a bag for cooling. Once cooled, remove the skin, seeds and stem. Chop fine. That is the essentials of the verde mixture.
The basics of chili verde are pretty simple. Essential to the dish is pork shoulder that is seared and then simmered in green things, including tomatillos, onions, and a few different chilies. The meat dish is a favorite filling for burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and totally delicious all on its own when served with white rice and flour tortillas.
Many recipes call for pureeing raw tomatillos, chilies and garlic, and blending them with the pork shoulder to cook. That's the fast method, but it lacks a certain southwest flavor. The secret to a genuine recipe is flame roasting the tomatillos, peppers and garlic to awaken the flavor.
There is no mistaking a fantastic chili verde. The delicious, tangy flavors of the "green mixture" are highlighted by the juicy goodness of tender, slow-cooked pork is pure South West heaven.
The way to make magic happen with this dish is to go 100% fresh and do everything by hand. That's how it's done down south, and it works. You brown or roast everything, which gives the dish its sweet, smoky, POW flavor. Plus, if you hand chop everything -- instead of taking them from a can or passing it through a food processor -- you get a wonderful chunky texture.
For me the tomatillos are a little too tart for my taste so I add 2 special ingredients that you don't find in most recipes. I didn't discover this on my own. I was introduced to the special flavor from a Mexican-American woman who makes fresh beef tamales that are absolutely out of this world.
The 2 special ingredients are honey and cinnamon. The honey tames the acidity and sourness from the tomatillos and peppers. The cinnamon brings out the flavor in the peppers and the other spices. Most people can't identify the flavor until you tell them what it is.
To make this recipe the tomatillos, garlic and peppers need to be roasted. Cut the tomatillos down the middle and place them cut side down on a metal cooking sheet, along with 6 unpeeled garlic cloves, 2 jalapeno peppers and two Anaheim or Poblano peppers. Put under a broiler for five to seven minutes to lightly blacken the outside. Take out of the oven. Put the chilies in a bag for cooling. Once cooled, remove the skin, seeds and stem. Chop fine. That is the essentials of the verde mixture.
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