AllenOK
Executive Chef
I've been thinking about this for several weeks. I finally broke down and made a trial batch tonight. PeppA has been nagging me to make it for lunch, as it's "weird", and the kids wouldn't touch it.
Here's what I made:
Allen’s Chile Verde
Yields: 10 - 12 servings
1# tomatillos, papery husks removed and rinsed
1 jalapeño, stemmed
3 ½# Pork stew meat (I used pork steaks, deboned and diced)
Vegetable oil, as needed
1 onion, diced
1 T garlic, minced
3 c pork stock (I use half beef, half chicken)
½ t coriander
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
Salt to taste
Handful of corn tortilla chips, optional
Preheat the broiler. Position the rack about 4 - 5” away from the heat source. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño on a sheet pan and broil for 5 minutes. Flip them over and broil again for another 5 minutes. When they are cooked and slightly charred, remove them from the oven and puree in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
Preheat a last cast iron Dutch Oven or other heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Swirl in some oil. Brown the pork, in batches if necessary. When done, remove all the pork from the pan and keep warm. Add the onion and garlic, and saute over medium heat until the onions wilt and begin to caramelize. Add the coriander, cumin, and oregano. Stir to cook. Add the reserved tomatillo mixture along with the stock and tortilla chips, if desired. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 2 - 3 hours, or until the pork begins to fall apart. Season to taste with salt.
Serve with the usual chili toppings. You can also use this as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, tamales, etc.
I made my Mexican Rice and some refritos to go with this. I also had some flour tortillas and I even picked up some Queso Fresco. When I plated the kids' meals, I didn't give them tortillas. However, when they saw me making soft tacos with the tortillas, they all wanted some tortillas.
The real funny thing is, I expected some of the kids to like it, and the others to take one look, and run for the hills. The ones I thought would like it, never touched it. The two that I thought wouldn't eat it, kept coming back for more. Even PeppA said this is a "repeat".
I will admit that I should have doubled the amount of tomatillos. I had originally planned on using 2 lbs, but since I thought it was going to be a half-batch lunchtime trial, didn't buy enough. My next batch will have 2 lbs of tomatillos, and two jalapenoes, as I couldn't really detect any "heat". Or, I might go with a small can of green chiles, which I believe is more authentic. I would also cut back on the amount of stock.
I thought the end result was pretty darn good! The pork didn't "pull" on it's own. That's probably because of the size I diced it into (1/2"). Had I deboned the steaks, and just rough-cut them, I could have stirred them around with the spoon after the pot was done, and broke them up that way. I kept going back for more, until we ran out of tortillas. I may have to go get more tortillas for lunch tomorrow!
Here's what I made:
Allen’s Chile Verde
Yields: 10 - 12 servings
1# tomatillos, papery husks removed and rinsed
1 jalapeño, stemmed
3 ½# Pork stew meat (I used pork steaks, deboned and diced)
Vegetable oil, as needed
1 onion, diced
1 T garlic, minced
3 c pork stock (I use half beef, half chicken)
½ t coriander
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
Salt to taste
Handful of corn tortilla chips, optional
Preheat the broiler. Position the rack about 4 - 5” away from the heat source. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño on a sheet pan and broil for 5 minutes. Flip them over and broil again for another 5 minutes. When they are cooked and slightly charred, remove them from the oven and puree in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
Preheat a last cast iron Dutch Oven or other heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Swirl in some oil. Brown the pork, in batches if necessary. When done, remove all the pork from the pan and keep warm. Add the onion and garlic, and saute over medium heat until the onions wilt and begin to caramelize. Add the coriander, cumin, and oregano. Stir to cook. Add the reserved tomatillo mixture along with the stock and tortilla chips, if desired. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 2 - 3 hours, or until the pork begins to fall apart. Season to taste with salt.
Serve with the usual chili toppings. You can also use this as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, tamales, etc.
I made my Mexican Rice and some refritos to go with this. I also had some flour tortillas and I even picked up some Queso Fresco. When I plated the kids' meals, I didn't give them tortillas. However, when they saw me making soft tacos with the tortillas, they all wanted some tortillas.
The real funny thing is, I expected some of the kids to like it, and the others to take one look, and run for the hills. The ones I thought would like it, never touched it. The two that I thought wouldn't eat it, kept coming back for more. Even PeppA said this is a "repeat".
I will admit that I should have doubled the amount of tomatillos. I had originally planned on using 2 lbs, but since I thought it was going to be a half-batch lunchtime trial, didn't buy enough. My next batch will have 2 lbs of tomatillos, and two jalapenoes, as I couldn't really detect any "heat". Or, I might go with a small can of green chiles, which I believe is more authentic. I would also cut back on the amount of stock.
I thought the end result was pretty darn good! The pork didn't "pull" on it's own. That's probably because of the size I diced it into (1/2"). Had I deboned the steaks, and just rough-cut them, I could have stirred them around with the spoon after the pot was done, and broke them up that way. I kept going back for more, until we ran out of tortillas. I may have to go get more tortillas for lunch tomorrow!
