Crockpot Chili Verde

There are certainly easier and faster ways to make Chili Verde, (like green sauce from a jar) but nothing makes me feel like more of an awesome homemaker than making something from scratch.  I like to do some pre-work a day in advance, then I put the sauce in a crockpot with the pork and let it cook until I get home from work.  You can adjust the spice in this recipe, but as I've written it, it's perfect for the whole family. (...if you have a family who likes a tiny bit of spice.  We don't call it spice.  We call it flavor.)

The flavor in this recipe is fantastic, and there are several ways you can eat it.  Matt likes it in tortillas with Monterey jack cheese as Chili Verde Enchiladas.  Kaylen likes it as a dip with tortilla chips, and I prefer it over a bed of rice with Monterey jack cheese.

This is one of Matt's top 2 favorite recipes.  I plan on making his other favorite meal for Valentine's Day, and I'll share that later.

Crockpot Chili Verde

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder

1  large yellow onion

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sea salt

freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 - 4 cups chicken broth

4 fresh poblano chile peppers

2 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 yellow bell pepper

1.5 lbs fresh tomatillos, husks removed

1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

rice, tortillas, or chips

Monterey cheese, grated

Day one

Turn on broiler and roast poblanos and yellow bell pepper until blistered all over. Set aside to cool.

Peel tomatillos, wash them, then pull the stem off the top of each one.  Wash and de-stem 2 jalapenos. Steam all peppers and tomatillos whole for about 10 minutes or until soft.  While the peppers are steaming, peel skin from poblanos and yellow bell pepper.  This will be very easy if you've blistered them enough.  Put tomatillos (will have lots of juice), poblanos, yellow bell pepper, and cilantro in food processor to puree.  I had to do mine in sections because my processor wouldn't hold it all.  Combine all of the above in a covered dish and refrigerate until ready to put in crockpot for cooking.  Chop onions in processor. Place in separate covered dish and refrigerate.

Day Two

Place pork in crockpot.  In a skillet, heat EVOO and cook onions and garlic.  When the onions are translucent, add cumin and salt.  Stir, then add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet to deglaze.  Pour onion mixture and tomatillo sauce in crockpot.  Stir gently.  Add a small amount of chicken broth, only until pork is mostly covered.  This should take about 2 cups of broth.  It always gets a little more liquidy once the pork starts to cook, so even if it looks a bit thick, hold off on adding too much broth at this point.  About 4 or 5 hours later, (or whenever you get home from work) remove the pork from crockpot. Shred it with a fork and knife, then return meat to the crockpot and stir.  Let cook until you're ready to eat.  It will thicken a little more at this point.

Serve:

A)  over a bed of rice in a bowl with cheese sprinkled on top,

B)  as enchiladas.  Spoon verde sauce in a tortilla.  Wrap closed and place seam side down on a plate.  Top with more verde sauce and sprinkle with cheese.  Microwave to melt cheese,

C)  as a dip in a bowl with tortilla chips.

Source:  I've been making this recipe for a few years, and I can't find the original source.  Online, somewhere!  I've tweaked it until it is Katie-perfect.