Recipe Corner-Green Chile Stew

So there are a few things you should know how to make as a denizen of the Greater Southwest. Why? So when your relatives visit and want some "real Tucson food," you'll have something to do other than simply take them to whatever cheesy-bean establishment is less than a mile away.

This is a recipe that requires little to no naked cooking ability, other then the browning of meat and the stewing of everything else. It's a celebration of that wonderful late summer vegetable, the green chile. This is straightforward border home-cooking. Ready? Let's do it.

1. A great stew starts with meat. I use pork country ribs. These are not actually ribs, they're shoulder meat. That's what the bones are if you buy them bone-in. You should buy them bone in. Why? The bones add additional flavor, and are usually cheaper than the boneless. Why? Because a human has to cut the bones out. More human effort, pricier meat. Take a look at these.
Notice how much fat there is. That's called flavor. Now, if it's much fattier than this, you probably want to trim them. This marbling is about perfect. Not too much fat. These four ribs weigh about two pounds. Also perfect. Rinse them. Dry them. Why? Dried meat will sear better. Season liberally with kosher salt and pepper. Besides adding flavor, the salt will also dry out the surface a bit leading to, you guessed it, better sear.

2. Sear the meat. Use a heavy-bottomed dutch oven. This is my old Lodge five quart dutch oven. It is well-seasoned and older than any of my children. You can use an enameled dutch oven too. I would go with cast iron regardless. Why? It retains heat extremely well. It is not, however, extremely sensitive to changes in heat. That gives you time to correct if you've turned the heat up too high. Do not crowd the meat. With pieces of meat this size, you will need to cook in batches. Why? Because if the meat is too crowded, the oil will not stay hot enough to sear effectively, your meat will start sweating, release liquid, and the meat will steam instead of sear. Cook like so:

Put a tablespoon or so of plain vegetable oil in the bottom of the pan. Heat until just smoking over medium high heat. If you have lard, use that. I render my own lard. How? Easy. Ask your butcher for a pound of pig fat. Cook it in the oven until it renders. Cool it. If you don't make your own lard, I would avoid packaged lard. It sometimes has a bitter taste. I would also avoid olive oil, or any oil that has an assertive taste of its own. It will change the flavor of the stew.

When the oil is hot, add the meat. Avoid the temptation to move it around. We want to develop a brow crust. Again, that's flavor. Good stuff. There at the bottom of the pot. After five to seven minutes, flip the meat. It should look like this:

Doesn't that look good? Let the other side sit. Take the meat out. Repeat with the other pieces.

3. The green chile. Now, while you're cooking the meat, heat your broiler. Put the rack right up next to it. Take out your green chiles. Poke them with a fork a few times. Put them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Shove them under the broiler. For how long? Until they look like this:

Take them off with tongs. Put them in a plastic shopping bag. I prefer the ones from Target. They're a bit thicker than your grocery store bags. Tie the top of the bag shut. Put the whole thing aside for ten minutes.

When you open the bag and pour out the chiles, the skins will have loosened enough to peel them. Like so:
Run the chiles under the faucet. Rub the skins off. They should come off fairly easily. If you can't get it all off, don't sweat it. A lot of chile skin is annoying. A little will soften and disappear into the stew. Chop off the tops. Rinse out the seeds. The seeds will make the stew hotter. The flesh of the chiles will provide enough sharp heat. Too many seeds and you'll taste nothing but heat. Trust me. The stew will be plenty hot.

(If you want to short-circuit this step, you can buy bags of roasted and peeled green chile at Food City)

Chop the chile. Not too fine. Otherwise, it will disintegrate after an hour or so of stewing. About half an inch square is good.

4. Chop an onion. If you don't know how to chop an onion, email me. Seriously. There's a right and wrong way. Make the pieces relatively uniform.
Put a tablespoon or so of oil in the pan. Put the onions in. Salt them liberally. We want to draw some moisture out. Extra moisture in the stew will dilute the flavor we're looking for. Between the leftover pork fat in the pan and the oil, there should be enough to briskly cook the onions at around medium heat until they start to brown a bit and are starting to get translucent. At that point:

5. The baby will probably have gotten bored and will leave the kitchen:


6. That's the signal to add the chopped chile and a can of diced tomatoes:

I like fire-roasted diced tomatoes. The extra flavor from the roasting is no bullshit. I use Hunts or Muir Glen. Both go on sale frequently. When they do, I buy ten or so cans at a time. They're pantry staples. Into the pot they go. Stir. Let cook for a minute or two, again, to get the excess moisture out and preserve the structural integrity of the ingredients.

7. Now add the following. A container of chicken stock. Low sodium. Not because I'm a health nut. Because the regular sodium stock is waaaaayyyyy too salty.


I like Swanson's. I also like Costco's Organic chicken stock. Suit yourself. If you have a looonnnggg time to let the stew simmer, like all day, feel free to just use water. If you only have a few hours, the flavor boost of the chicken stock works better. Bring to a simmer with:

One minced chipotle pepper and a tablespoon of adobo sauce. You will be tempted to use more peppers and more sauce. Resist. You want smoky, background heat. Not burn your tongue aggressive heat. It's the green chile that we want to shine through here. You have been warned.

Two or three cloves of garlic, smashed with the flat of your knife. Not minced garlic. Not passed through a press. Again, we want a subtle flavor. Not a harsh one.
A tablespoon or so of Mexican oregano. Pour it into your palm. Rub your hands together over the pot. Do not use good old Italian oregano. The two are different plants with different flavors. You put a tablespoon of Italian oregano into this stew and it will taste like marinara sauce. Don't do it. If you can't find Mexican oregano, and you should be able to, it's in the supermarket next to the rest of what Albertson's calls "Hispanic Foods," skip it entirely. It won't make that much of a difference.

8. Simmer at a lazy bubble. For how long? Until the meat breaks down and can be cut with the side of a spoon. Probably at least two to two and half hours. About forty minutes from go time, add three good-sized white potatoes scrubbed, but skin on and chopped.
Why white potatoes? Not as starchy as russets. Won't fall apart under long boiling and won't noticeably thicken the stew. Why not peeled? The peels taste good, have vitamins in them and help the pieces hold together. Try to keep the pieces cut semi-uniformly. So they cook at the same rate. Add to the stew.

When you're done, you should have something that looks like this:9. Eat it. Careful before you add salt. The meat is salted. The onions are salted. The broth has a surprising amount of salt in it. Taste before you correct. I like a little cheese on top, cotija if you have it, a bit of shredded cheddar if you don't. Eat with tortillas. Maybe a bit of diced avocado. If you want it hotter, use Sriracha in a sensible fashion. Enjoy.