Pork Green Chili Recipe (New Mexico Chile Verde)
Pork Green Chili Recipe (New Mexico Chile Verde) – This New Mexico Chile Verde AKA Green Chili recipe is savory and bold. Made with tomatillos and poblano peppers, it is perfect for spicy chili lovers!
Why We Love This New Mexican Pork Green Chili Recipe
New Mexicans are proud of their agriculture and the history behind their dishes. Their kitchen creations scream adaptability and survival. In blazing arid climates, what can you grow?
Chiles.
And what can you make with an abundance of chiles?
The BEST Chile Verde.
For generations, locals have chosen to honor the chiles with great exuberance. The state question after all is, “Red or green?” As in, “Do you prefer to eat red or green chile?” Chiles are not just produced, they are a way of life.
New Mexico Chile Verde, also known as Green Chili and Green Chile Stew or Green Chili with Pork, is a dish I discovered years ago on a cross-country trip. A native New Mexican friend made it for me and I was baffled by the concept of chili that wasn’t red… And didn’t contain tomatoes, beans, or beef.
What was this strange and wonderful concoction!?
What is New Mexican Chile Verde?
New Mexico Chile Verde (Green Chili) is known for not having an official recipe. It consists of slow-cooked green chiles and pork; all other ingredients are optional.
Locals would avidly tell you that the chile peppers you use matter quite a bit. The long green “New Mexican” style chiles are a state treasure.
What I buy at the market in North Carolina would only be considered a shadow of real New Mexican chiles. They say the dry barren soil of New Mexico produces the hottest and most flavorful chiles. Known commonly as Hatch Chiles (grown in Hatch) or Big Jims, these chiles are a source of great pride.
I asked my friend what kind of chiles I should use to make New Mexico Chile Verde (Green Chili). She answered, “Green.” Looking over the selection in the market I asked, “What kind of green chiles?” With a tinge of exasperation, she replied, “GREEN!“
What Ingredients You Need
Trying to be the happy medium, I’ve prepared my version of New Mexico Chile Verde (Green Chili) with locally grown green chiles. I substituted a mixture of Anaheims (a milder New Mexican style chile), Poblanos for depth of flavor, and a couple of jalapeños for heat.
Here is what you need for green chili with pork:
- Oil – your preferred oil for sautéing
- Pork butt – or pork shoulder, trimmed and cubed
- Onion – peeled and chopped
- Garlic – minced
- Seasonings – cumin, coriander, oregano, bay leaves and salt
- Peppers – Hatch or Anaheim peppers, poblano, and jalapeno
- Tomatillos – peeled, cleaned, and chopped
- Cilantro – chopped
- Masa – aka corn flour
- Lime wedges – for garnish
The addition of stewed tomatillos, cilantro, and a splash of lime juice at the end makes for an exciting bowl of pork chile verde.
It’s spicy, zesty, and GREEN in more ways than one!
How to Make Pork Green Chili
In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and add the cubed pork along with 2 teaspoons of salt. Brown the pork on all sides while stirring regularly. Remove the pork from the pot and set aside; pour off the rendered fat and keep about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
To the oil add chopped onion, salt, cumin, and coriander, and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is soft. Add the minced garlic and peppers, and continue cooking for a few more minutes.
Next, add the chopped tomatillos, bay leaves, and cilantro. In a separate bowl, toss the browned pork with the masa and then add it all to the pot, stirring well.
Lastly, add the water; bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat down to a simmer. Cover and continue to simmer for about 3 hours while stirring occasionally. When ready the pork should be fork-tender and falling apart: Use two forks to shred the pork completely, and add salt and pepper to taste.
I love enjoying a heaping hot bowl of Chile Verde with crunchy tortilla chips or a hunk of sweet cornbread.
Some toppings I recommend are diced green onions, an extra handful of chopped cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream. However, you can also add shredded or crumbled cheese!
Get the Full Pork Green Chili Recipe (New Mexico Chile Verde) Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- Let it cook low and slow! To get super tender, melt-in-your-mouth pork, you have to let the pork green chili cook low and slow, for at least 3 hours! This will also give the sauce time to develop lots of flavor.
- For added flavor, you can use chicken broth in place of the water! Just be careful when adding more salt. Make sure to taste the green chili before adding more salt at the end!
- This green chili with pork recipe gets most of its heat from the jalapeños. If you aren’t a fan of spicy foods, you can add just one jalapeño, and make sure to deseed it well! If you like it spicy, add two jalapeños and you can even add the seeds if you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Will New Mexico Chile Verde Keep?
Stored in an airtight container this green chili will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
It also makes a wonderful meal prep and freezer meal! Leftovers can be stored in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers wrapped in tin foil and frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I Make Colorado Green Chili in an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker?
While I have not personally tried this New Mexico Chile Verde recipe in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, I believe it would work very well.
You’ll need to use the Sauté function to first cook all of the ingredients per the recipe below, making sure to deglaze the pot before adding the masa-coated pork and water. Pressure cook on HIGH for 7 minutes and then do a Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes.
Similarly, to prepare in a slow cooker you’ll first need to sauté the pork, onion, peppers, and tomatillos with seasonings on the stove. Then, transfer the ingredients to the slow cooker, stir, cover, and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours.
Is This a Gluten-Free Green Chili Recipe?
It is gluten-free! Because I make this Green Chili with masa there are no wheat-based ingredients.
What Can I Use as a Substitute for Masa?
If you don’t have masa on hand, you can either make your own quickie-version by pulverizing corn tortilla chips in a food processor or try a simple swap like corn grits or rice flour to keep the recipe gluten-free.
You also can substitute with traditional wheat flour for a non gluten-free version.
Can I Make Chile Verde with Beef Instead of Pork?
Absolutely! A large beef chuck roast or 3-4 chicken breasts would work as a great swap for the pork butt.
Let me know in the comments if you give this recipe a try or use any substitutes!
What Should I Serve Pork Green Chile With?
I highly recommend serving this hatch green chile with homemade tortillas. You can also serve it with some tortilla chips. Don’t forget to top it off with a squeeze of lime and fresh cilantro!
Looking for More Satisfying Stew and Chili Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Paleo White Chicken Chili Recipe
- Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew
- Best Turkey Chili Recipe
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken Chili
- Turkey Soup with Poblano Peppers
- The Best Beef Stew Recipe
New Mexico Chile Verde (Green Chili)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oil
- 4 pounds pork butt, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Hatch peppers, chopped (or Anaheims)
- 2 Poblano peppers, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 pound tomatillos (peeled and cleaned), chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bunch cilantro (large), chopped
- 3 tablespoons masa (corn flour)
- 4 cups water or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon salt, divided
- Lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork and 2 teaspoons of salt. Brown the pork on all sides, stirring regularly. Remove the pork from the pot and pour out all rendered fat, saving about 1 tablespoon.
- Add the onions, remaining salt, cumin, coriander, and oregano to the pot. Sauté for 3-5 minutes. Then add the garlic and peppers. Sauté another 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatillos, bay leaves, and cilantro. Toss the pork with the masa and add back to the pot. Stir well.
- Finally add the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, or until the pork is falling apart, stirring occasionally.
- Take 2 forks and break the pork up even more. Salt and pepper to taste.
This dish turned out awesomely delicious. My wife and four children loved it. Instead of browning the pork in a pan, I slow-smoked the pork butt over mesquite wood for five hours. The smoke flavor in the pork did not overwhelm the chili. This recipe is what we in our house call a “keeper.” Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this recipe. I make this (green chile stew) all the time, doing it differently every time, just because I’m lazy, and have made it enough that I can usually adjust here or there with the seasonings. I lived in New Mexico for a couple years. I remember noticing not too long after arriving they put green chile on everything. A colleague told me “We put green chile on everything, even bagels.” Thought that was wierd, then not long after developed what is now, and probably will be, a life-long green chile addiction. So I thought i’d throw in some of my own experiences for what they’re worth.
First, there’s a company called Santa Fe Ole (Contact@SantaFeOleFoodCo.com) Phone: (505) 473-0724 selling mild, medium and hot hatch chiles in jars, and available in markets–I get mine where I live in Dallas TX. My stew always comes out way better when I use Hatch/NM chiles. No food snobbery here, and if you don’t live in the southwest, then you make do what what you have–anaheim, poblano, fresno, etc. But I have tried all these, and more, as well as various canned types, and they are ok, but just not the same. To the recipe above, I usually add some sage; I skip the jalapenos (FYI the Santa Fe Ole chiles are hot! Even the medium is pretty spicy–fine for me but not the family), and if I am adding in some peppers for heat, I use whole serranos–I split em down the middle and throw em in whole, stem and all. I omit the bay leaves. Agree on the pork butt. Pork shoulder works too. Definitely not pork chops or other lean cuts–too lean, meat comes out dry and chalky, especially after a long simmer. I’ve tried browning and not browning the meat first–both seem to work well. I use mexican oregano, which seems a lot stronger than the oregano (Italian?) usually found in the supermarket–so sparing use here. Yes to the tomatillos. You can add even more tang with some lime juice, to taste, which you also mentioned here, with the lime wedges. Yes to the fresh cilantro, roughly chopped is ok–it mostly disintegrates anyway. The main thing I’ve tried to improve on over the years is the real green chile taste be more pronounced–in my experience, it’s VERY easy for it to get disguised under the cumin, garlic, and even the chicken stock. So I’ve gradually cut back, in fact way back on the water/stock. I try to add moreno more than a cup, two at the most of stock (chicken stock, low sodium), and then just go for a long, low simmer, with liquid coming from onions, tomatillos, chiles, etc, adding stock only as necessary. This gives a very think soup which can then, of course, be ladled over darn near anything. Add a dollop of sour cream at serving time if you wish (especially if you happened to brew up a batch that’s intolerably spicy (a nice problem to have, really). I serve with fat/fajita flour tortillas, not the thin ones for burritos. My best dish: Make this on day 1, eat as a soup/stew, then on day 2, make what i call chile verde scramble: Start with scrambled eggs made in a frying pan. Plate the eggs, then in the same pan, turn the heat to high, then ladle in 3/4 cup or so (per serving) of the stew. With the hot pan, it will boil soon, and also quickly reduce, which intensifies all the flavors. This works well making 1-2 servings at a time–if you do more, then stew won’t develop that really fast boil, more like ‘frying’ really, that provides for the nice reduction. When reduced to your liking, use a spatula to kind of slide it out of the pan and right over the top of the eggs. Finish with a handful of grated monterey jack cheese on top, and may a few sprigs of cilantro, hot fajita tortillas on the side. I never get tired of this. Had it this morning. Here’s the last thing: on my quest to get even more concentrated green chile flavor, today I order some natural hatch green chil flavor concentrate from a commercial flavoring company–who knew there was such a thing. Can’t wait to try this. https://flavorconcentrates.com/mct-natural-hatch-green-chile-flavor. Thanks again for this great recipe, and the preceding article too, celebrating this wonderful New Mexico/Southwestern cuisine.
How do you have the nerve to call this New Mexico Green Chili when you are using Anaheim and Poblano chilies?????
Thank you!!
Best green chili recipe ever!! So worth the time and extra ingredients. Making my second recipe as I write. Used with eggs, taco chips, taquitos etc. Delicious!!!
By the way, I used Hatch Green Chiles.
Fantastic!
I had mild hatch chilis and used about eight of these. Delicious :)
Only one thing to get picky about- you should use Mexican Oregano. Regular oregano is too sweet. Other than that, this is a perfect recipe.
Can I use beef in this?
Hi Mia,
Absolutely! A big chuck roast would work perfectly.
This is in the pot as we speak! My daughter and I both did the prep work-it took us an hour and a half. We are using Hatch Chilis and jalepenos. It smells devine, and we cant wait to try. Cheers!
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Great chile dish…I was short of mild chiles so added half a jar of Herdez Salsa Verde to round it out along with some roasted Hatch and some home grown bells and spicy Anaheim peppers. Also added some home cooked pintos and a diced yellow squash so it wouldn’t be too spicy for hubby – I have a bad habit of doing that. Made about half the recipe using some precooked shredded port loin, and it came out great. I’ll use some of the leftovers to cover cheese enchiladas later this week and some of it for work lunches. I think everyone has their unique take on what Chile Verde should be, so make it your own. This was a great recipe to work from. Thanks!
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As someone who grew up on Hatch green chile, it’s wonderful to see a recipe that captures the flavor as closely as possible. There isn’t a perfect replacement, but this is the closest I’ve ever seen. I can’t get the good stuff in Florida, so this will be a great alternative. Thanks
I live in the Orlando area, and Lucky’s Market has fresh Hatch green chilies this month. Hurry!
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What would the cooking time be using chicken? I don’t eat pork or beef
so was thinking about doing this with chicken.
Hi Pamela, the cooking time would probably be about the same, to be able to develop depth of flavor.
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While this looks very good, it is not a true New Mexico Green Chile Stew (I am a born and raised New Mexican). Substitute NM green chile for all the other peppers, omit the tomatillos, masa and cilantro, and your closer. This recipe is more what a Californian would think NM/ Mexican chile is. That being said, I occasionally like a more traditional Mexican tomatillo chile verde, and this does look good.
Once a year Hatch Chiles are available here. I buy a case and then roast them and put them in the freezer. Only special recipes get my Hatch peppers. This recipe certainly deserves the peppers from my secret stash.