Pork Chile Verde
Pork Chile Verde is a comforting Mexican dish made with tender pork simmered in a bright, tangy tomatillo sauce with green chiles and cilantro. Perfect with rice and warm tortillas.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 246kcal
Ingredients
To cook the pork
- 2 pounds tenderloin or any other lean pork cut into small cubes
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ medium onion (yellow or white)
- 1 dry bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the salsa verde
- 9 large raw tomatillos
- 1 large jalapeño remove the stem and seeds
- 1 serrano pepper remove the stem and seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ medium onion (yellow or white)
- ½ cup packed fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chicken bullion
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- 1 ½ cups pork stock (reserved from the cooking pork)
- kosher or sea salt to taste
Instructions
Cook the pork
- In a large pot, add the pork and enough water to cover it. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-high heat.Tip: As the pork begins to boil, skim off the white foam that rises to the top using a spoon.
- Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 1 hour. Reserve 1.5 cups of the cooking water (pork stock) for later. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
- When most of the pork liquid has evaporated, uncover, raise to medium-high heat and brown the meat a little bit.
Make the salsa verde
- While the pork cooks, make the salsa. In a large skillet lined with foil, roast the tomatillos, onion, peppers, and garlic. Turn them occasionally until all sides are charred and softened. Set aside until cooled.
- Add the roasted veggies to a blender, the cilantro, 1 teaspoon chicken bullion, ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 cup pork stock. Puree until you can't see any vegetable chunks.
- Add the salsa verde to the browned pork.Tip: Use the remaining ½ cup of stock to rinse out the blender, pour it in, swirl it around to catch any leftover salsa, then add it to the pot.
- Mix to integrate the pork with the salsa, cover with a lid and cook over medium-high heat. When the meat starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-low. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Cover and continue to cook over medium-low heat to let all of the flavors integrate. About 20 minutes.
- Serve while warm with a side of rice, fried beans and warm tortillas.
Notes
- Use lean pork: Pork tenderloin or loin work great for this recipe. You’ll get that fall-apart texture without too much fat in the sauce.
- Roast everything: Don’t skip the roasting step for the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chiles. The char adds depth to the salsa.
- Adjust the heat: Leave the seeds in the jalapeño or serrano if you like a spicier version. Otherwise, removing them gives you a more mild (but still flavorful) sauce.
- Let it simmer: After everything comes together, don’t rush that final simmer. The pork absorbs the flavor best during this last step.
Nutrition
Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 8g