Rob's Chile Verde
- 3 -4 lbs cubed pork (I used country-style boneless pork ribs for the darker meat and nice marbling of fat.)
- 4 (28 ounce) cans tomatillos (drained) or 4 lbs fresh tomatillos, roasted on a grill (these offer better flavor but may not be worth the effort.)
- 12 poblano chiles (This is where the flavor comes from! Fresh pablano chiles roasted then peeled.)
- 3 medium diced onions
- 12 bunch fresh cilantro
- salt (to taste)
- garlic clove
- ground habanero (This is for a little heat, the Pablanos are very mild and need a little kick in pants. You could sub)
- Roasting the Chilies.
- To roast the chilies you can use a gas or charcoal grill, a broiler, or a stovetop burner, anything that will provide intense heat.
- Roast the chilies until the skin separates from the meat of the chile.
- Its ok for the skin to burn a little; in fact it is what gives the chile its roasted flavor.
- After the chilies are roasted, place them in a plastic bag or tightly lidded bowel to steam.
- You want to make sure the stems are not actually burning, as this will melt the bag.
- I have melted a few bags doing this.
- After about 10 to 15 minutes, peel the chilies by gently rubbing the skin off.
- If you find burnt chile beneath the skin, DONT cut it out or otherwise discard it, this is bonus flavor.
- Once the chilies are skinned, remove the stems or burnt nub of what used to be the stem.
- The seeds can be discarded or kept; it is up to you.
- The more seeds you have in your Chile Verde, the more intimidating it looks.
- Making the Chile.
- In a large stock pot, season the pork with pepper and brown.
- With three pounds of cubed pork you should do this in batches so it actually has a chance of browning.
- As the last of the pork is finishing, add the diced onion and let it soften-up a bit then add the garlic and salt to taste.
- Add the drained cans of tomatillos: they have enough liquid in them; they dont need the excess from the can.
- Mash the tomatillos up a bit so they break up as they stew.
- You can do this by squishing them in half as you add them to the pot.
- Be careful they will pop and squirt all over the place.
- Stir the mixture well, making sure you get all that stuff off the bottom of the pot from the pork and onions.
- Add the chilies in a similar manner to the tomatillos.
- You want the chilies to end up in bite sized pieces but you still want them recognizable.
- Chop up about half of the bunch of fresh cilantro and add it to the pot.
- At this point, you can transfer the chile to a crock pot (set to low) or just turn the stove down to low and keep an eye on it every once in a while and scrape the bottom of the pot as needed.
- Allow the chile to cook for a couple of hours; youll know it is done when the meat is very tender and breaks apart easily when you taste it.
- It seems it requires frequent taste testing.
- Add more chopped cilantro as need before serving.
- Depending on the chilies you may need to add some habanero powder.
- This stuff is powerful hot so add it sparingly; I use the tip of a coffee stir-stick to measure it out one scoop at a time, with mandatory tasting between each scoop.
- Heat it up as you see fit.
- Serve with warm white corn tortillas.
- Place a damp paper towel on a plate under a small stack of tortillas and top it off with another damp paper towel and a bowl to cover the stack.
- Microwave on high for a couple of minutes or until they are heated through.
- Enjoy!
fresh tomatillos, chiles, onions, cilantro, salt, garlic, ground habanero
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/robs-chile-verde-490781 (may not work)