Hatch chile season is here! Time to turn up the heat in the kitchen…this time with the classic Hatch Pork Chile Verde. You would think that a dish this superlative would be difficult to make, but not true. There are only three parts to this dish: making the chile verde base, frying up the pork, and then combining the two and simmering until the pork is tender. It’s that simple.
Special Ingredients
This dish requires tomatillos. They are something like a peppery, grassy, unripe tomato. They have a thin, papery outer later, that when peeled away reveals the fruit. It’s waxy to the touch and leaves a tacky residue on your hands, so they need to be washed thoroughly before they are ready to cook.
The first thing you need to do is roast the chiles and tomatillos. Cut the tomatillos in half, and place on a baking sheet. Place the Hatch chiles and a couple of jalepenos on the baking sheet as well. Broil in the oven for about five minutes, or until black spots appear and the skins of the peppers start to blister. Take out, turn over, and broil for three to five minutes more. When finished, take out and set aside to cool.
While they are cooling, cube and fry the pork in batches. The main dish you’ll use is a Dutch oven to fry the pork and later simmer the chile verde, but I also used a skillet. I did this for a couple of reasons…first, because it speeds up the frying process and second, because now there are two pans that have “fond” to add to the dish. Fond is the rich brown stuff at the bottom of the pan that has concentrated flavor. You can sautee the onion and garlic in your final skillet batch, using the onion to deglaze the bottom.
Add chicken stock as you need to the Dutch oven between cooking the batches, to help moderate the temperature. You aren’t really going to start cooking it just yet, because you have to go back and prep the chile.
When the chiles are cooled, remove the stems, seeds, and skin from the chiles. I like my chile to have a little more heat, so I leave a few seeds in. Blend the chiles, tomatillos, dried oregano, and one bunch of cilantro (stems removed) into a blender and blend until combined (about 10 seconds). The aroma is incredible. Grassy, tangy, peppery.
Add to the Dutch oven with the pork, and add a few cups of the chicken stock. For this dish, make sure to use chicken stock, not broth, as the stock has more flavor.
Then, cook for two to three hours over medium low heat or until the pork is fork tender. I kept it at medium low, stirred occasionally, and kept it partially covered the chile so that it wouldn’t reduce so much. You want to make sure it is simmering the entire time. Add more stock as needed. I used a total of four cups, over time, to make this dish.
Hatch chiles vary in heat from season to season. Last year’s batch was mild and not hot at all. This year’s chile has a bit of kick. Because the heat is such a variable, this is a “living dish”…it changes slightly with each crop used to create it.
The amounts I list make six generous portions, but it won’t last long, trust me. Serve simply with tortillas, like I did, or with beans and rice.
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Ingredients
- 6-8 Hatch chiles roughly estimated 10 oz of roasted, peeled, seeded chiles
- 1.5 lbs tomatillos peeled, washed, and sliced in half
- 2 jalapenos
- 1 bunch of cilantro about 1 cup, with stems removed plus on bunch more (stems removed) for garnish
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 3.5-4 lbs of pork shoulder butt cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tbsps kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First you'll need to prepare the chile. Turn the broiler on, and while heating, peel, wash, and cut the tomatillos in half.
- Place the tomatillos, hatch chiles, and jalapeno on a baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes or until the chiles and tomatillo start to show black spots and blister.
- At five minutes, take out and flip so that both sides are charred. Put in for another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Cube the and salt and pepper the pork.
- Heat the stove top to medium high and put a Dutch oven on the stove top. When warm, add canola oil and start to fry the pork in batches, browning all sides, and removing to a plate when finished with the batches.
- Add the onion and garlic so that the onion deglazes the skillet a bit. Add the meat, onions, and garlic into the Dutch oven.
- Add 2 cups of the chicken stock to continue to deglaze and moderate the heat.
- Go back to the chiles and remove the skins off the jalapeno and Hatch chiles. Remove the stem and seeds, too.
- Place chiles, 1 bunch of cilantro (stems removed), and oregano in a high-powered blender or food processor and blend until mixed.
- Add to the Dutch oven. Add one more cup of chicken stock.
- Simmer over low heat, covering if needed, for two to three hours or until the meat is fork tender. Add the last cup of chicken stock as needed to maintain desired consistency.
- When ready to serve, garnish with more cilantro.
Oh my goodness, this looks SO GOOD. Love the short & simple ingredient list, too!
Thank you! It was delicious. Hatch chiles this year are very tasty.