Pork Chile Verde Recipe

Active Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 15 mins

Servings:

10 servings

This pork chile verde recipe from Guy Fieri is chock-full of meltingly tender pork shoulder braised in a tomatillo and chile-infused broth. Fieri uses pasilla, poblano, anaheim, and jalepeño peppers as the chile base for this comforting stew. It’s a warming, cozy dish for a winter gathering and perfect for any game day gathering.

A few things make this pork chile verde special. Rehydrating the dried pasilla will deepen the chile flavor of this stew. Broiling the tomatillos gives it smoky aromas. If you’re preparing this in the summer, try grilling them on the barbecue for an even richer smoky essence.

Searing the pork in batches ensures it is nicely browned, then deglazing the Dutch oven with white wine and white vinegar deepens the flavor of the stew by pulling up those browned bits while it lends some bright notes to the overall dish. The masa harina added at the end thickens the stew and gives it a beautiful consistency. Then, the garnishes bring the whole recipe together: Crispy tortillas strips introduce texture, lime wedges add brightness, cilantro and scallions offer fresh herbal bites, and cheese takes it over the top.

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Ingredients

Chile Verde

2 medium-size pasilla negro chiles (dried chilaca chiles), stemmed
2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed (about 22 medium tomatillos)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 large sweet onion, chopped (2 cups)
2 medium-size poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (7/8 cup)
2 medium-size fresh Anaheim chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (3/4 cup)
2 medium-size jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced (1/3 cup)
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes
2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons white vinegar
4 cups lower-sodium chicken stock
2 cups water
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1/3 cup masa harina
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
Garnishes: Crispy Tortilla Strips (recipe follows), chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, shredded jalapeño Jack cheese, sliced scallions

Crispy Tortilla Strips

(6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas, sliced into 1/4-in. strips
Canola oil
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Make the chile verde:

Place pasilla chiles in a medium-size heatproof bowl, and cover with hot water (chiles should be fully submerged). Cover and soak until softened, about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to broil with rack about 3 inches from heat source. Arrange tomatillos in a single layer on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Broil, turning once, until lightly charred all over, 5 to 10 minutes. (This will give finished chile a rich, smoky flavor.) (Alternatively, grill tomatillos on a gas grill over high heat, turning occasionally, until charred, 5 to 10 minutes). Set aside until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add onion, poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, jalapeños chiles, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent but not brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer chile mixture to a medium bowl. Increase heat in Dutch oven to high, and heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Sprinkle pork with 1 tablespoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the pepper. Working in 3 batches, add pork to Dutch oven in a single layer (do not overcrowd), and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer browned pork to a medium bowl.
Return browned pork and juices and chile mixture to Dutch oven, stirring to combine; add white wine and vinegar, scraping browned bits from bottom of Dutch oven using a wooden spoon. Cook until liquid is reduced to about three-fourths, about 5 minutes; add chicken stock, water, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, and remaining 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper. Bring to a boil over high.
While mixture in Dutch oven comes to a boil, drain and roughly chop rehydrated pasilla chiles. Chop charred tomatillos. Add pasilla chiles and tomatillos to Dutch oven. Cover; reduce heat to low, and simmer, undisturbed, for 30 minutes.
Whisk in masa harina; simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in lime juice. Divide evenly among 10 bowls, and garnish with Crispy Tortilla Strips, cilantro, cheese, and scallions.

Make the crispy tortilla strips:

Heat oil to a depth of 1 inch in a medium saucepan over medium until a thermometer registers 350°F. Working in batches, fry tortillas until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring gently so strips separate. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer tortilla strips to a paper towel-lined baking sheet, and drain. Season with salt to taste.

Pork Chile Verde

Ingredients

Directions

Make the chile verde:

Make the crispy tortilla strips:

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