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.
Masa is a dough made with lard and flour…aka tortilla dough (masa). Flour is actually named Harina (white flour), or Harina de maiz (corn flour.)
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Made this today and it’s yummy! I cooked 3 hours in the Slow Cooker, then thought it was still a little hard, so cooked in the Pressure Cooker for 7 minutes. I don’t have an Instant Pot, so I wasn’t sure how long it had to cook. Because my previous Instant Pot died after only one year, we bought a different maker. Our instructions, from my new Meuller PC have disappeared!
I hope if anyone needs PC info , it’s there for help.
Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Thank you
Very good recipe. I was not able to find coriander the first time I tried it. And I used Yellow curry google said you could substitute this. Turned out great. Also was not worried about Gluten so I just used flour instead of masa.
Flour is Harina. Masa is a flour mixed with baking soda and lard to make tortillas and other things such as tamales.
I tried this recipe today and my whole family liked it very much. Thanks, Sommer Collier for this wonderful recipe and blog.
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I left out the masa and used chicken stock. This was so, so good and the broth had a true green color. When it was done unused a potato masher instead of forks and that worked great.
I grew up in Colorado and have eaten all kinds of hatch green chili. Since moved to Oklahoma where they don’t even know what it is. So I had a friend go through and get some fresh from Hatch, NM and brought them back and made this recipe. It was killer! There is a very nice sweet to spicy ratio with flavor just popping in every bite. This is my new go to recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Brandon,
You must be living in the wrong part of Oklahoma. Keep your eye on the calendar this year and check for when the Hatch peppers are going to be ready. Crest gets shipments in and they have both hot and mild and will sell roasted or un-roasted. Check the calendar for one that is near you and on the specified dates, they will be roasting them in front of the store. Don’t tarry because they will go fast.
Haven’t made the recipe yet, but its whats for supper tonight.
Green Chili? Now what in the world is that? Maybe if I wasn’t from Oklahoma I would know.
You need to get out more fella.
I like Pueblo chiles better than Hatch. You should be able to find chiles in OK.
😃😅🤣😂
This was excellent . While I have my red chili recipes pretty well down solid I have not been as successful at chili verde. I really liked this . Perhaps a bit to much liquid as I had to cook it longer but that just made the bits of pork pull apart pieces of yummy. I took some of the liquid (including chilies, tomatillos etc but not the pork, puréed it and thickened it a little more and used that as enchilada sauce . I rolled corn tortilla s around the chili , covered with sauce and some cojita cheese and baked for 20 minutes. My wife was in heaven.
I am looking forward to making more of your recipes
I miss good New Mexico cooking. Spent so much time there, my husband was pueblo indian and I blessed to learn many things from the family. Bread, cookies, red chili green chili, tortillas. Home sick
This is really good! The spiciness is just perfect!!
Native New Mexican. No cumin!!!!!
This recipe is amazing! There’s a little local breakfast place that serves green chili pork and I order it every single time I eat there. I’ve been inspired to make my own and have tried multiple recipes that were fine, but never rivaled my favorite local breakfast place’s recipe until this one. We ate it four nights in a row, 2 nights as tacos and 2 nights as a breakfast skillet. This had the right amount of heat and sourness from the combo of chilies and tomatillos. I even ended up freezing the last of it since it was so good. If you’re a fan of green chili, give this one a try. It’s easy to make, is delicious, can be used in a variety of ways, reheats well and is a cost effective recipe. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Forget the tomatillos. I season my pork prior to cooking with a mix of green Chile powder, roasted garlic, cumin and oregano and also coat it with flour. It helps thicken the chile. The onion, fresh garlic and bay leaves are a winner plus salt. If you have good quality chiles you won’t need many ingredients. Many people over season with unneeded seasonings.
I get Hatch Chiles every august at Fresh Market here in Asheville, NC.
I have 3 hours to simmer… Can’t wait to try this! I love green chile and this is my 1st time making it. It looks and smells so good already!
I made this in the crockpot with canned Hatch chiles and added carrots and potatoes, I left it on low all day and it was delicious!
Calm down Karen You don’t speak for everyone in the southwest. I made this and thought it tasted amazing.