There’s just something about green chilies, tomatillos and deeply browned, braised pork that works. Really, really well. If you like pork. And you like green chilis and tomatillos. Then there’s no doubt in my mind you will love chile verde. You really have to taste it to understand. You really, really need to try it for yourself.

Chile verde is about layered flavours

There isn’t a whole lot to chile verde. It’s a simple dish. Not a ton of ingredients. That means each ingredient counts. And they come together in a way that you wouldn’t really expect. I love this kind of cooking. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. So much better. Step one is dry roasting the peppers and onions. Garlic too. I like the Rick Bayless approach to this. A lot of recipes will have you throw everything in the oven. And roast. That’s one way. But not my way. I like to dry roast on a comal or in a cast iron frying pan. Toss them in the pan over medium heat. No oil. Dry means dry. I find you get a better char. Even. And no burning. And no fried flavour. That’s important. You also don’t get the sweet flavours you get when roasting in the oven. That’s important too. Sweet works in some dishes. But not this one. This is all about the savoury. Thank you Mr. Bayless.

Brown your pork for depth

I can’t overstate this. A lot of the magic that is chile verde comes from the fond. Those brown bits in the bottom of the pot? That is the flavour glue that brings this dish together. So you need to take the time. Brown your pork well. It isn’t hard. If you aren’t willing to do it you should probably stop reading. Right now. Pick a big pot. One with a lot of surface area on the bottom. This will cut down on the number of batches. And you will need to cook your pork in batches. Toss all the pork in a pot. That’s a good way to make poached pork. Pork throws liquid as it cooks. And that liquid with boil your pork. Not a lot of fond that way. I give that 1 out of 10. But only because I’m in a good mood. Leave room around each piece. You don’t want steam. The pork needs to fry. To do its Maillard reaction thing. You are making flavour. The brown stuff in the bottom of the pot when you are done. That is just pure gold.

Fry the salsa for the win

This is the step that brings it all together. So simple. Trivial almost. But so important. Critical even. Fry your salsa. The roasted chilies and tomatillos. They get pureed into a salsa. A pretty good salsa. When that salsa hits hot oil though. When that fond gets deglazed into the sauce. That is the point where it goes from being pork in salsa to Chile verde. From something mildly amusing to “I’m opening a food truck and serving chile verde tacos”. You’re reading this. And saying “This guy is totally over-stating this”. I’m writing this. And I’m thinking I am under-selling it. If you get one thing from this recipe this step needs to be it.

Chile verde makes amazing tacos

Add this to your taco Tuesdays. Seriously delicious tacos. Or burritos. I felt like tacos so that’s the picture I took. But both are great. Super easy once you have your chile verde done. Have it for dinner one night. And tacos the next night. That is just good living. Warm corn tortillas. Chile verde. A little chopped onion. Maybe a bit of habanero salsa. Or not. Up to you. And a squeeze of lime. Simple. Easy. Delicious. Or stuff a burrito with shredded pork. Some pinto beans. Pico. Rice if you must. A big smear of guacamole. That is already a serious burrito. But there’s more. Plate it. Drown it with more sauce. Flip that under the broiler for about a minute. Burritos meets enchiladas. Magic happens. The wet burrito. Never had a wet burrito ? It’s an amazing thing. Truly special. I still remember my first. San Diego. Many years ago. Little hole in the wall taqueria. “chile verde burrito. Hold the rice.” I say. “You want it wet?” the guy asks. “What’s that?” I say. “With sauce on top”. “The green sauce???”. Cut to scene. Me standing at the counter. Eyes wide. Huge grin on my face. “Bring it!!!” Chile verde wet burrito. Some things stay with you for life.

The quick and dirty way

I shouldn’t do this. I’m working against myself. But I know once you try this recipe you’ll be addicted. I know. I am. There’s a cheat. An easy way. Not quite as good. But close enough. To get your fix. When it’s Tuesday and you are jonesing. When there isn’t a poblano for miles. You can use jarred salsa verde to make this. There. I said it. Jarred salsa. I’ve lost all credibility. Wouldn’t blame you if you left and never came back. A Mexican brand like Herdes works well. No product endorsement here. I’m not getting paid to say this. I just like it. I do this sometimes. Poblanos and tomatillos aren’t the easiest thing to find where I live. Seasonal. My addiction? Year round. I’m not proud of it. But I do it anyway. And I’m unrepentant. Addiction is like that. Skip making the salsa verde bit in the recipe. Substitute the jarred sauce in the chile verde part of the recipe. Go from there. You won’t likely need to add salt though. That’s it. Easy. Not quite the same. But still tasty. My dirty little secret.

Make chile verde – just do it

I have a few lifelong favourites. This is one of them. Has been for many years. The earthiness of the deeply browned pork, onions and garlic. The acid from the tomatillos. The complexity of the poblanos. A few simple ingredients come together to make something incredible. Make a big batch. Have it for dinner. Tacos or burritos the next day. And the day after that. It’s a dish that just keeps on giving. Try it. It’s easy. And it’s so worth it…

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