Today’s recipe is an extra special one! When you get to spend a day in the kitchen learning to cook a long time family favorite recipe you know dinner is going to oh so very, very good!!! I’m so excited to share it with you today!
It’s very easy to make, but it does take some time to make it, so you need to plan ahead. The result is definitely worth the time it takes!!! Adjust the amount of jalapeño peppers to suit your taste. If you like it spicy use up to a dozen peppers, but if you like it on the milder side use 6-8 peppers instead.
Start by removing the paper husks from tomatillos. If you are not familiar with tomatillos, they look a lot like green tomatoes but they have a completely different flavor profile. Their flavor is very tart and tangy, not sweet like tomatoes at all. They have a papery skin that you need to remove, and their skin is slightly sticky.
Wash the tomatillos and jalapeño peppers under cold water.
Place 3-4 tomatillos on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil.
Create a foil pouch and seal tomatillos inside.
Do the same thing with the jalapeno peppers.
Cut the top off the head of garlic and place it on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and seal packet.
Place all the foil pouches on a cooking sheet and place in the oven.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tomatillos, jalapeño peppers and garlic are soft.
While tomatillos, garlic and peppers are roasting in the oven, prepare pork.
Cut spare ribs and pork shoulder into 2 inch chunks, keeping some of the meat on the bones.
The meat will fall off the bones once the Chile Verde is cooked and the bones add a ton of good flavor, so don’t discard them until the very end.
Heat a couple tablespoons vegetable oil in a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat.
Cook the pork in small batches until the meat chunks are golden brown. Remove each batch and continue until all the pork is browned adding more oil to the pan as needed.
When peppers and tomatillos are soft, carefully open all the foil pouches. Remove stems from the jalapeño peppers and place the peppers along with all the juices that are in the foil pouch into a blender.
Add the roasted tomatillos along with their juices to the blender.
Squeeze the garlic head with your fingers and add the roasted garlic to the blender. Discard husk.
Puree until you have a smooth sauce and there are no large chunks left.
Add the sauce to the saucepan and scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
Add cumin and a bay leaf.
Return browned pork to the pot.
Stir to combine.
Increase heat and bring mixute to a simmer.
Cover pot and reduce heat.
Simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 1½ hours, or until pork is tender and the meat easily comes off the bones.
Add water if sauce gets too thick.
Taste and season with salt.
Heat tortillas in a skillet or over an open flame until toasted and softened.
Keep warm.
Serve this Pork Chile Verde with warmed tortillas.
Round out the meal with and a side of Olga’s Authentic Spanish Rice.
No authentic Mexican meal is complete with out beans. Serve this fabulous side of Olga’s Authentic Pinto Beans to complete this delicious meal.
I can honestly say, this was one of the best Mexican meals I have ever enjoyed!!!
A HUGE thank you and shout out to Olga and Joanna for sharing their expertise and teaching me how to cook this outstanding meal!!! These two ladies are even more outstanding than the meal we prepared together!!! I had so much fun learning and cooking with these two wonderful ladies! After a fun day cooking together in the kitchen filled with laughter, we sat down to enjoy a fabulous meal together!
This Chile Verde is the best I’ve ever had!!! It’s easy to make, using just basic fresh ingredients that results in a flavor packed meal you are sure to love!!!
Authentic Mexican Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 2 lbs country style spare ribs
- 3 lbs pork shoulder
- salt & pepper, to taste
- vegetable oil
- 10-14 medium tomatillos
- 6-8 Jalapeños
- 1 head garlic
- olive oil
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- flour tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Remove the paper husks from tomatillos.
- Wash tomatillos and jalapeno peppers under cold water.
- Place 3-4 tomatillos on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Create a foil pouch and seal tomatillos inside.
- Do the same thing with the jalapeno peppers.
- Cut the top off the head of garlic and place it on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and seal packet.
- Place foil pouches on a cooking sheet and place in the oven.
- Cook for 30-45 minutes or until tomatillos, jalapeño peppers and garlic are soft.
- While tomatillos, garlic and peppers are roasting in the oven, prepare pork.
- Cut spare ribs and pork shoulder into 2 inch chunks. Keep some of the meat on the bones.
- Heat a couple tablespoons vegetable oil in a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat.
- Cook pork in small batches until meat chunks are golden brown. Remove each batch and continue until all the pork is browned.
- When peppers and tomatillos are soft, carefully open all the foil pouches. Remove stems from the jalapeño peppers and place the peppers along with all the juices that are in the foil pouch into a blender.
- Add the roasted tomatillos along with their juices to the blender.
- Squeeze the garlic head with your fingers and add the roasted garlic to the blender. Discard husk.
- Puree until you have a smooth sauce and there are no large chunks left.
- Add the sauce to the saucepan and scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the pot.
- Add cumin and bay leaf.
- Return browned pork to the pot and stir to combine.
- Increase heat and bring mixute to a simmer.
- Cover pot and reduce heat. Simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 1½ hours, or until pork is tender and the meat easily comes off the bones.
- Add water if sauce seems to thick.
- Taste and season with salt.
- Heat flour tortillas in a skillet or over an open flame.
- Serve pork with warmed tortillas and a side of Spanish rice and pinto beans to round out the meal.
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