Just when I thought I had used up all my shredded pork, a gift came in the form of a gallon bag of shredded smoked pork from my uncle. Not one to look a gift pig in the mouth, I divided it into a few containers and stuck it in the freezer to be doled out to my family at a later date. Of course I had to cook some of it right away. And it tastes amazing! If you aren’t lucky enough to have people giving you pork, you can use leftovers from my basic pork roast recipe, or simply throw in a small pork roast or some chops. Since this is a crock pot recipe they will cook up just fine over the course of the day.
When I went to school in Denver, I discovered the best Mexican food I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. The general thinking there is to smother just about everything in green chili. And I am okay with that! And if you don’t feel like eating it over the top of a burrito, a nice bowl of it works just fine. As opposed to most other places I’ve lived, in that style of cooking the green sauce is more spicy; the red sauce is the mild stuff. I didn’t have a recipe for green chili, so I just winged it and was very pleased with the results! Since we were planning to eat this as a soup/stew, I made this version chunkier than I remember, and added some black beans. Not that that will stop me from using the leftovers to smother something – like a breakfast burrito! Serve with rice and warm tortillas.
That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Pork Green Chili
5-6 Anaheim Chiles
3-4 Poblano or Padilla Peppers
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
3-4 cups shredded or chopped pork*
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked and quartered
4 cups chicken broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt to taste
2-3 tsp. ground cumin
Rice & tortillas for serving if desired
Looking yummy already! Tomatillos and peppers.
Seed peppers. You can do this to the small ones by cutting of the top, turning upside down and rolling between your hands or shaking out the seeds. Or you can cut them in half and remove the seeds that way.
All ready to roast.
Lay out on a baking sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes per side until skin is blackened.
Leave them in there until the skin is nice and black. It will peel right off once it is cool.
Place in a paper or plastic bag to steam and cool. When cool enough to handle, remove skins and coarsely chop peppers.
Add all ingredients to crock pot. Turn on high for a 2-3 hours, then turn down to low and cook until dinner time. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
* If you don’t have a bunch of leftover shredded pork in your freezer, feel free to use a small pork roast, or pork chops. Just put the meat on the bottom of the crock pot and pile everything else on top. At the end of the day, take a couple of forks and pull the meat apart into shreds or chunks and remove any bones before serving.
3hungrymonkeys 