A new one for me — and I loved every tangy slow-cooked bite!
For almost 30 years, while we lived in The Woodlands, Friday night meant Mexican food. Back then, the two of us could order a couple of margaritas, dinner, and still have a check for $20 or less. Hard to imagine now when a single margarita can cost that much.
All the more reason to cook more at home.
I do make homemade pork and beef tamales occasionally — just like my sister and my mother used to. When I go to the trouble, I make plenty and put them into the freezer so we can enjoy them all winter long when the craving hits.
This particular recipe is one my son Scott discovered on NYT Cooking. He made it first and liked it so much that I had to try it myself. As luck would have it, I had everything on hand except the tomatillos, which I picked up at the local mercantile.
This recipe takes about two hours in the oven, but the slow cook time is worth every minute — and, don’t we all need a reason to slow down these days? The flavors deepen, the sauce becomes rich and slightly tangy, and the kitchen smells so good. I finished it with fresh squeezes of lime, and I think sliced avocado would be a perfect addition.
The next day, I warmed some flour tortillas, shredded the leftovers a bit more, and turned them into tacos topped with crumbled Oaxaca cheese. Wow! They may have been even better the second time around.
A new one for me — and now one I’ll come back to again and again.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: If you’re looking to build a full Mexican-inspired meal, my Street Corn is the perfect side dish — bright, a little messy, and full of flavor. I first shared it back in July 2012, and clearly 4,800 have loved it too!
Ingredients for a delicious meal.
Put the charred poblano and jalapeno in a bowl and covefr with pastic wrap. Let steam about 5 miutes then remove skins and seeds from peppers.
Charred tomatillos ready to go in blender.
Make the verde sauce.
Put two tablespoons olive oil in your pot and start browning your meat. You may have to do this in 2-3 batches.
Pour the salsa verde over the meat.
Cover and put this in oven forr 1 1/2-2 hours.
Pork Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 1 lb. tomatillos husks removed
- 3 poblano chiles stems removed
- 1 jalapeno stemmed
- 6 peeled garlic cloves
- 2 limes save one for serving
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper top taste
- 1 c. loosely packed cilantro extra for garnishing
- 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. country style ribs boneless
- 1 1/2 c. sweet onion chopped
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
- 2 c. chicken broth
- cooked rice for serving
- 1 avocado sliced for garnish optional
- warm flour tortillas optional
Instructions
- Heat the broiler on high and set rack 6" from heat source. On a foil lined rimmed sheet pan combine the tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeno, garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of the oil; season with salt and toss to evenly coat. Broil, turning halfway through until nicely charred, about 15 minutes. Transfer poblano chiles to a small bowl and cover with plastioc wrap; let steam for 5 minutes. Peel the peppers and discard skin.
- In a blender, combine the pobanos, tomatillos, jalapeno and garlic and scrape any juices from the sheet pan into the bender. Add the cilantro and puree until smooth.
- Heat oven to 325°.
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium, Season pork with salt and peppr and add half of it to the pot Cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pork.
- After all the pork has been browned and removed from the pot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Add the cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Return the pork to the pot with any accumulated juices. Add the broth and tomatillo puree and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and tranfer to the oven, Roast until pork is very tender, 1 1/2-2 hours. Season stew with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide the pork chile verde among shallow bowls, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm with rice. Serve lime wedges to be squeezed over the dish.
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