Chile Verde Recipe
Chunks of pork in our scratch-made green tomatillo sauce.
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Ingredients
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Pork and Marinade
Green Tomatillo Sauce
To Finish & Serve
Method
Pork and Marinade
- 1
Season Pork
Pat pork cubes dry with paper towels. Sprinkle 2 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper over the meat and toss to coat evenly. Let rest at room temperature 10 minutes while preparing sauce ingredients.
- 2
Brown Pork
Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add pork cubes and brown on all sides, about 6–8 minutes per batch. Transfer browned pork to a plate and set aside (they do not need to be fully cooked through).
Green Tomatillo Sauce
- 3
Roast Tomatillos and Chiles
Preheat broiler (or use a hot skillet). Place tomatillos, jalapeños, serrano (if using), and quartered onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Lightly brush or spray with oil. Broil 6–8 minutes, turning once, until tomatillos are blistered and softened and chiles and onion are charred in spots. Alternatively, char in a hot cast-iron skillet.
- 4
Blend Sauce
Transfer the roasted tomatillos, chiles, onion, garlic, cilantro, 1 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp ground cumin, and 1 tsp oregano to a blender. Add about 1/2 cup of the stock. Purée until very smooth, adding more stock as needed to reach a pourable but thick sauce (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups worth of stock blended). Taste and adjust seasoning and heat (add more serrano or remove seeds if too hot).
- 5
Cook Sauce
In the same Dutch oven used for the pork, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Pour the blended tomatillo sauce into the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes to cook raw flavors out and slightly thicken.
Combine & Finish
- 6
Simmer Pork in Sauce
Return the browned pork and any accumulated juices to the pot with the simmering sauce. Add the remaining stock (about 1 1/2 cups if you used 1/2 cup for blending) so the pork is mostly submerged. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover partially, and simmer until pork is tender, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Stir occasionally and skim any excess fat from the surface.
- 7
Adjust Seasoning
Once pork is fork-tender, remove the lid and increase heat to medium to reduce the sauce slightly if it seems thin, 5–8 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp fresh lime juice. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed (usually an additional 1/2 tsp salt may be required).
- 8
Serve
Ladle pork and green sauce into a serving dish. Garnish with chopped cilantro, optional crumbled cotija or queso fresco, and serve with lime wedges and warm tortillas.