Pork Chile Verde

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Pork Chile Verde is pork and potatoes cooked in a spicy green sauce, or salsa verde until they are tender and the sauce is thickened. 

The Chile Verde, made with pork, potatoes, tomatillos, poblano chiles, Serranos, and jalapeños, makes a spicy yet very flavorful saucy pork dinner.

Since I live in the heart of Tex-Mex country, we enjoy lots of different types of salsas. Salsa Verde, made with tomatillos and peppers, is one of our favorites.

Down here we don’t just use salsa for dipping our tortilla chips into, we use it in all our cooking, like cooking pork and potatoes in the Chile Verde salsa, just like what they serve in taquerias.

Today we are sharing one of our favorite Pork Recipes as well as Tex-Mex Recipes and Mexican Recipes. It is similar to Hatch Chile Pork Stew, but with tomatillos and no tomatoes. Serve it with Cilantro Lime Rice or Homemade Flour Tortillas to round out your dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Flavor. You’ll love the spicy, savory flavor of the tender pork and potatoes with the roasted tomatillo salsa verde.
• Easy. It really is a lot easier to make than you would think.
• Gluten Free. This recipe is naturally gluten free.
• Hearty. Filling and hearty, no one will go away hungry after this meal.

How To Make Pork Chile Verde

Equipment

The affiliate links below will allow you to see the product on Amazon.com. If you purchase one of the items, I will receive a very small commission on the product, which does not increase the price.

• Cutting Board - You need a cutting board and I like this large, sustainable bamboo cutting board.
• Sheet Pan – I like to bake sheet pan pancakes in this 13×9 1/4 sheet pan because it results in a perfect, more pancake-like thickness than a cake pan, which would result in a thicker, more cake-like dish, or a 1/2 sheet baking sheet which would result in a very thin pancake.
• Food Processor - This one is a popular, highly rated food processor.
• Blender - If you prefer to use a more standard counter blender, then this Ninja Blender and food processor is a good option.
• Dutch Oven - Perfect for this soup. This one is a popular best selling 6 quart Dutch Oven.
• Sauce Pan – All-purpose pan to use on the stove top for sauces, soups, etc.

Ingredient Notes

Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.

• Pork. I like to cut up ribs and other meat that may have bones, as well as pork shoulder 
• Tomatillos. these are small green tomatoes that are naturally wrapped in their own green paper.  They are perfect for many Mexican dishes because of their acidity and delicious flavor
• Serranos. you can use jalapeños if you prefer 
• Poblanos. these are large green peppers that can be spicy or may surprise you and not be spicy at all 
• Jalapeños. I like to combine the different chilis to form a delicious flavor 
• Onion. I used a white onion but any type of onion will work.
• Garlic. This recipe calls for whole garlic cloves because they are going to be roasted in the oven.
• Chicken bouillon. I use Knorr Swissa, but any brand is fine. 
• Salt and pepper
• Cumin. For seasoning 
• Oregano. Use Mexican oregano if you have it, otherwise just use regular oregano.
• Potatoes. You can use any potatoes you want.
• Oil. You will need a small amount of oil to brown the meat.

Easy Instructions With Photos

For more detailed instructions, scroll down to the bottom of this blog post, just above the comments, to the printable recipe card.

• Brown The Meat. In a Dutch Oven, heat the oil and brown the pork on all sides.

• Roast the tomatillos, poblano peppers, jalapeños, onions, and garlic, under a broiler for 5 to 10 minutes until they are blistered and begin to blacken.

• Make The Salsa. After allowing to cool for 5 minutes, add the ingredients for the tomatillo salsa into a blender and mix for 2 minutes.

• Place a Dutch Oven with the pork on the stove over medium heat and pour the salsa verde over the meat. Allow the chili to simmer over medium low heat for an hour. Add water as necessary.

• When the meat has simmered for an hour, add the potatoes and continue to simmer for an hour to 2 hours, stirring occassionally. Add water as needed.

What To Serve With Pork Chile Verde

• Cilantro Lime Rice
• Mexican Rice
• Mexican Cauliflower Rice
• Mexican Cabbage Slaw
• Mexican Street Corn Salad

Pro Recipe Tips

• For the most flavorful dish, brown the meat before cooking in the sauce.  When browning the meat, only do 4 to 5 pieces at a time.  If you overcrowd the pan, it will steam the meat instead of browning it.
• To bring out that earthy roasted flavor in the sauce, the tomatillos, peppers, onion, and garlic will need to blacken under a double broiler for 5 to 10 minutes. Don’t skip this step.
• As the Chile verde cooks, you will need to add water.  The consistency of this dish will be like a thick gravy.  The potatoes also help thicken it. 
• For the most flavorful Chile verde, cook the bone-in pork. You can remove the bones from the meat once it is cooked if you prefer, but isn't necessary. 
• This chili verde becomes more flavorful the longer it simmers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• How Do I Store Chile Verde?  
  • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Can I Freeze Chile Verde?
  • Yes, you can freeze Chile verde in an airtight, freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.

More Recipes You’ll Love

• Roasted Hatch Green Chile Pork Stew
• Instant Pot Pulled Pork
• Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
• Instant Pot Ham, Green Beans, and Potatoes

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Recipe

Pork Chile Verde Recipe

By Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

4.86 from 7 votes

Chile Verde, made with tender pork, potatoes, and salsa verde, made with tomatillos, poblano chiles, Serranos, and jalapeños, makes a spicy flavorful saucy pork dinner.

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Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Broil Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 278

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• ▢ 3 pounds pork ribs or pork shoulder (cut into large chunks)
• ▢ 8 tomatillos halved
• ▢ 2 serranos deseeded and destemmed
• ▢ 2 poblanos deseeded and destemmed
• ▢ 1 jalapeno deseeded and destemmed
• ▢ ½ onion
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves
• ▢ 1 Tablespoons chicken bouillon
• ▢ 2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon oregano
• ▢ 1 to 3 cups water
• ▢ 4 potatoes peeled and cubed

Instructions 

• Turn on the broiler to 500°.
• In a large dutch oven or stockpot, heat the oil and brown 4 to 5 pieces of meat at a time. When all the meat has been browned, add all the meat back to the pan.
• Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place the tomatillos, chilis, onion, and garlic on the pan. Place under the broiler for 10 minutes or until chilis begin to blacken.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Add all the tomatillos, chilis onion and garlic to the blender and add all the spices and 1 cup of water. Blend for 2 minutes.
• Pour green sauce over the meat and turn on medium. Allow the chili to simmer over medium low heat for an hour. Add water as necessary.
• When the meat has simmered for an hour, add the potatoes and continue to simmer for an hour to 2 hours, stirring occassionally. Add water as needed.
• Serve with hot tortillas or rice.

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Notes

Tips for making chili verde:

• You will need to brown the meat before cooking in the sauce.  When browning the meat, only do 4 to 5 pieces at a time.  If you overcrowd the pan, it will steam the meat instead of browning it.
• The tomatillos, peppers, onion, and garlic will need to blacken under a double broiler for 5 to 10 minutes.
• The blackened vegetables will be blended and poured over the browned meat to cook for an hour.
• As the green chile cooks, you will need to add water.  The consistency of this dish will be like a thick gravy.  The potatoes also help thicken it. 
• After the meat is tender the potatoes will be added and the chili verde cooked for an additional hour.  
• You can remove the bones from the meat once it is cooked if you prefer, but isn't necessary. 
• This chili verde gets better and better as it simmers.

How do I store leftovers?

• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 895mg | Potassium: 704mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 258IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg