Pork Green Chile
I moved to Colorado in 1998 and I’ll never forget the first time someone asked me if I knew how to make chile. Um, hello, I’m Mexican; of course I know how to make all kinds of chile dishes.
Then they said, “No, green chile!” I was confused. “Yes, I know how to make salsa verde, salsa casera, chile verde con carne y papas, and green enchilada sauce.” “Which green chile are you talking about?”
Then they said, “No, pork green chile, Colorado style. It’s thick like a gravy or stew made with spicy fire roasted long green Mira Sol Chile from Pueblo, combined with chunks of pork tenderloin, tomato, and onion. We use it to ‘smother’ our dishes.” “Smother?” I was very confused.
Then I went to my first Mexican restaurant in Denver and ordered chile rellenos and the waitress asked me if I wanted them smothered. I kept hearing about this green chile and the term smothered and finally had to give it a try. To be completely honest I was not a fan – I found it horrible and wrong.
It took me years, but I have finally come to appreciate this unique thick green Colorado style chile, and I have to admit it can be quite addictive.
This recipe was adapted from my cousins’ husband who is from Pueblo, Colorado. He makes a mean green chile, so I knew I had to ask him for his popular recipe. Thank you Augi!
If you live in Colorado be sure to go to the Chile & Frijoles Festival and stock up on some fire-roasted chile.
If you do not have access to this chile, try making it with Hatch Chile, but whatever you do, don’t use canned chile.
(photo: pueblochilefestivalinfo.com)
With green chile season and Labor Day just around the corner, I invite you to make a big pot of this spicy pork green chile. I especially love it while camping. You can make a big batch of it and freeze it and reheat it on your campfire or Coleman stove. Something about this pork green chile lingering through the Colorado mountain air is a beautiful thing.
I especially love this chile smothered over my eggs in the morning. Yes, I said smothered, after all I’m a Coloradoan now.
Pork Green Chile (Colorado Style)
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 pounds pork tenderloin, diced
- 2 onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 quarts chicken broth (fresh or packaged)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons coriander
- 3 tablespoons dried oregano, crushed
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 30 to 35 Mira Sol or Hatch Chiles, roasted, peeled, and chopped
- 2½ cups cold water
- 1 cup cornstarch
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large skillet or casserole. Place the pork and cook for about 10 minutes, until pork is browned. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, salt, coriander, oregano, tomatoes, and chile. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a separate dish combine water and cornstarch and continue to stir. Add a little of the cornstarch mixture at a time to the stew. The stew will thicken as it cools.
- This recipe can also be transferred to a slow cooker for all day simmering on low.
- Smother this pork green chile over breakfast burritos or just eat it as a stew with warm tortillas.
I’d love to see what you cook!
Tag #MUYBUENOCOOKING if you make this recipe.
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This looks like the perfect dish to make in a multi cooker!
I bet this green chile makes the best chile cheese fries on the planet.
I want it..it have to win..
This was the best pork green chile that Ive ever eaten! My husband had 3 plates full of it. I halved the recipe for two, but next time I may have to make the full recipe because there may not be enough to freeze after he finishes. Oh! He is in the kitchen eating it out of the crockpot!
So happy to hear the recipe was a hit and that your hubby is a happy man. Yay!
This is very similar to my grandfathers recipe. I use tomatilloes instead of red tomatoes and I add potatoes. My family loves their green chilli.
always looking for a unique chili recipe!
Pollo con calabazita!
I REALLY want to try this green chile recipe….. Looks yummy….although I would maybe use the tomatillos instead.
I would make green chile, of course! Love the photo of your eggs with green chile. I am going to make myself some of those right now. 🙂
If you were halving this recipe, would you half the canned tomatoes, or still use the 15oz can? I was surprised that you used so little tomatoes to pork to start with, so just wanted to verify…thanks
Hi Rob,
I would go ahead and keep the entire can of tomatoes. Can you send me some? Enjoy!
Thanks so much, I love your recipes, they are straight forward & always a hit here…thanks for making me look like a chef.
This is awesome! I’ve been wanting a recipe like this for, well, forever. Thank you so much!
It’s also good if you make a roux to throw in after cooking the meat. I also like to throw in a can of hominy in to the mix.
We are very proude to live in Bangladesh
1 cup of cornstarch? Don’t you mean 1 cup cornstarch slurry? I can just imagine an inexperienced cook putting in an entire cup of cornstarch. Lol
Hi Pam, as the recipe says – in a separate dish combine water and cornstarch and continue to stir. Add a little of the cornstarch mixture at a time to the stew.
And yes, this recipe calls for 1 cup of cornstarch. Its a very large batch and the entire recipe can be cut in half if needed.
Sorry. You lost me at “can. No canned chilis, you say, then you use canned tomatoes? Nope. Nope. Nope.
When using proper tomatoes, try “garden peach” “Amana” or “pineapple varieties. Excellent flavor, and because they are not red, they don’t muddy the color.
Crazy love it really couldn’t understand what all the fuss was when I moved to Pueblo Co in-laws friends and many love it .Today I’m making it for dinner and its Great.I’m from California and make different types of Chile and Thanks for the recipe
How many portions does this recipe include?
This recipe makes 20-30 servings. Feel free to half this recipe.
Sounds really good! I think I’ll make some. This dish is very similar to the green chile my mom and dad would make. They used fresh roasted red tomatoes, though. Always! They are from New Mexico. I enjoy your site. Thank you.
I think the oregano spoiled it other that that it came out good. Will just take that out next time.
10 family members are renting a house in Moab, UT. I am making this to bring for huevos rancheros breakfast. I moved to Pueblo a year ago Feb and attended the Chillie Fest and have roasted Pueblo Chilies in the freezer! I also had one of the local farm stands roast tomatoes for me……this is gonna be epic!
Can I use boneless pork butt/shoulder instead of the pork tenderloin?
I used a pork shoulder bone in. The trimming took some time but the results were outstanding!
I am from Pueblo CO but i am in the military and everywhere I go nobody has ever heard of hatch green chili so every season I have to order it online and stock up. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe.thank you
Thank you! There were a lot of recipes out there that looked funky. This one looked best and came out muy bueno.
This is fantastic! After getting a bushel of roasted peppers (and other goodies) from DiSantis Farms in Pueblo, I wanted to try my hand (again) at a batch of green chile. This recipe is by far the easiest and tastiest ever! We had some during the Broncos game but then I put it in the crock pot to simmer overnight. Thanks for this perfect recipe!
This looks like a great way to make green chili.
Since I have no access to Hatch or Mia Sol chiles, I don’t have a perspective to how many of the only chiles available to me which are about 2.5 inches long I should use for proper proportions.. Pictures online show me Hatch chiles that look around 6 inches long so I know what I have and what this recipe calls for are apples and oranges regarding volume of perhaps the hero of this dish; which is of course the chiles.
I understand lots of cooks do not have access to a scale, but for those of us who do use scales in baking and general cooking …. an idea of the approximate weight of “30 – 35 Mia Sol or Hatch” chiles included in the recipe would be very, very helpful.
Authentic green chili is absolutely not made with chicken broth or oregano, these takes away from the flavor of the green chili. My family has been making green chili for years and my mother would say it would be absolutely terrible to use chicken broth. Think about it “chicken flavored pork green chili”??
I’ll be cutting this recipe in half and would like to know how many chiles you would use if I am trying to make this the least spicy as possible. I don’t know much about chiles so I’m not even certain how spicy Hatch chiles are. My kids can’t handle spicy food and I want to make sure they can enjoy this dinner as well.
Flower or corn tortillas