Easy Chile Verde

pressure cooker chili verde
Photo: Justin Walker
Prep Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
3 hrs 25 mins
Yield:
4 to 6 Serves

If you order a bowl of authentic Mexican chile verde in the Southwest, you'll find hunks of juicy, tender pork shoulder that have been braised for hours in a tart tomatillo-chile sauce. While the original is worthy of a special weekend project, we wanted a recipe that we could make on any lazy Sunday and still be delicious. By using storebought ingredients that bring maximum flavor with the minimal amount of fuss, we created a hearty and warming chile verde that is practically hands-off. In a rush? Try the pressure-cooker version of this recipe, instead.

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Ingredients

  • 3 ¼ pounds pork shoulder, cut into thirds

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 can (7 ounces) diced green chiles, such as Goya

  • 1 jar (15 ounces) medium green salsa, such as Xochitl (1 ¾ cups)

  • Tortilla chips, cilantro, sour cream, cotija cheese, and sliced radishes, serrano or jalapeño chiles, and avocado, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat a medium Dutch oven (6 to 8 quarts) over medium-high. Swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Working in batches, brown pork all over, 16 to 20 minutes total (adding remaining oil when needed). Let pork cool slightly, then cut into 1-inch chunks.

  2. Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Return pork to Dutch oven along with canned chiles, salsa, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to oven. Roast until pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

  3. Let stand 10 minutes; skim fat with a spoon and serve with various accompaniments on the side.

Cook's Notes

Browning the pork in a few larger pieces gives you the flavor you are looking without having to brown it in multiple stages.

Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, October 2019

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