Chili Verde
Do you guys watch Top Chef? It's soooooo good. It's on Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo, and I'm totally addicted. This season takes place in Colorado, so it inspired me to share a Colorado recipe: Chili Verde. Coloradans serve Green Chili on its own or they smother it on almost anything you can think of: breakfast burritos, potatoes, burgers, etc.
While it might be tough to get anyone to share their recipe with you, it's usually made with pork, onions, garlic, chilis, tomatillos, and a variety of spices.
There are several ways to prepare chili verde, but I'll show you how I did mine. For starters, let's talk pork. Many people cube the pork shoulder and cook it in the broth, but I prefer shredded pork. So I started my chili verde by slow cooking the pork shoulder in the crockpot. Make sure you get a good sear on the pork before throwing it in the slow cooker. That will give it that nice browned texture on the outside. I actually seared the pork shoulder on the grill because I just can't get enough of that grill flavor.
Speaking of grilled, many chili verde makers roast the tomatillos and various peppers in the oven. You can totally do that. And you especially may want to do that if you just got back from the Super Bowl in Minnesota like my hubby (holy cold!). But like I said, I just can't get enough of that grill flavor, so I grilled the tomatillos and peppers. I think it was definitely worth the effort.
Chili Verde
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs pork shoulder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 ounces light beer
olive oil
2 yellow onions chopped
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 jalapeño pepper chopped
2 tablespoons chopped serrano peppers
1/2 quart chicken broth
7 Anaheim peppers
5 tomatillos paper skins peeled and halfed
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
salt + pepper to taste
1/4 cup corn flour
INSTRUCTIONS
Warm a grill on medium high heat. Pat the pork shoulder dry. Season generously with salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder. Sear the pork shoulder on the grill until just seared on the outside, not cooked through. Place the pork shoulder in a slow cooker. Pour in the beer. Cook on low for five hours. When done, discard the fat and shred the pork.
In a large pot over medium heat, add two tablespoons of olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, serrano, and jalapeño peppers. Cook until slightly softened. Add the broth, turn the heat to low, and simmer.
Meanwhile place the tomatillos on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on each side for about three minutes per side or until slightly charred and softened. Grill the Anaheim peppers as well until they are charred and soft. Peel and seed the Anaheim peppers.
In a food processor, puree the Anaheim peppers and the tomatillos. Add the puree to the broth mixture. Combine the spices and add to the pot. Add the pork and continue to simmer for another hour.
In a small saucepan, mix 1/4 cup olive oil with the corn flour stirring over low heat for about two minutes making a masa roux. Stir in the masa roux and simmer for another ten minutes.
This chili verde is a perfect winter recipe. Curl up on the couch and eat a bowl of it just the way it is, or my preference, store it in the fridge and pour it on top of all of your weeknight recipes for some added flavor and kick. I'm currently snacking on it with some chips from Chipotle. I love me some Chipotle.
How gorgeous are these spices? You guys definitely tune into this season of Top Chef! It's so good. I freakin' learn so much from that show.
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