Chile Verde – Pork Stew
This stew takes some work but man is it worth it! The meat is super tender and the sauce is outstanding! Make sure you make this when you have enough time so that you let it cook as slowly as it is supposed to. You can also freeze this recipe and use it when you are short of time. It is truly delicious!
Here is what you are going to need:
3 pounds pork butt
1/2 cup water
1 large onion, finely sliced
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon Chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander
2 tablespoons flour
3 large oranges
1 cup chicken stock
1 large tomato or 2 medium tomatoes, diced
6 small tomatillos -diced
1 – 7oz. can whole chile verdes, chopped
1 bay leaf
8 cilantro sprigs
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Rinse and pat dry the pork. Separate as much fat as you can from the meat and dice the meat into medium size pieces. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy pan or a braising pan with olive oil. Working in batches, brown the meat evenly on all sides. Be careful not to burn the meat but make sure it is crispy. Remove it from the pan. Get rid of the excess oil and add the 1/2 cup water. Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and set this liquid aside.
Wipe down the skillet and add olive oil. Add the onions and cook them occasionally stirring, until they are light brown.
While the onions are cooking, cut off 4 thick pieces of orange peel (about 2 inches thick) and trim it of the white interior. Set the orange peel aside. Go ahead and juice the oranges and set these aside as well.
When the onions are lightly browned, add the garlic, cumin, coriander and Chipotle pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic – about 1/2 a minute. Add the flour and mix well. Cook for an additional minute. Add the reserved liquid, orange juice and chicken broth to the pan. Return the pork pieces and bring to a boil. Add the orange peel, cilantro stems and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
After an hour add the chopped tomatoes and chile verde. Stir well. Increase the heat until you have a soft boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 more hour, stirring occasionally.
Remove the meat and vegetables from the sauce into a bowl. Discard the orange peel, cilantro stems and bay leaf. Skim off all the excess fat from the pot and discard it. You should have quite a bit of fat.
Bring the skimmed sauce to a boil and reduce it by one third. Return the pork and vegetables to the sauce and heat through.
Serve your delicious stew with rice and sprinkled with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
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