Although we call it Chile Verde (Green Chili) north of the border, the dish is known as Carne De Puerco En Salsa Verde (pork in green sauce) in Mexico. Like many dishes that have worked their way north, such as Migas, and Chile con Carne, Chile Verde has taken some twists and turns turning it into something uniquely delicious.
It’s hands-down one of my favorite Mexican-American dishes when properly made, and comfortably makes it into my list of favorite meat dishes as well. Unfortunately, many restaurants take shortcuts. Using canned chiles, or cooking leaner cuts of pork for shorter periods of time, may be more profitable, but they just don’t do this fantastic dish justice.
A great Chile Verde has pork that pulls apart with a fork and yet it remains incredibly juicy. The sauce, while comprised of ingredients that are initially pungent, sour, and spicy, mellows out, finding a mouthwatering equilibrium during its slow braise, which adds savory and sweet tastes to the mix as well. Together they make for a comforting stew that’s sublime, bordering on the divine.
I’ve been working on my Chili Verde recipe for over a decade now, and I have developed a few tricks that turn these ordinary ingredients into something extraordinary. The first is to use a variety of green chili peppers. I like a combination of Poblano chiles for their earthy flavor, Anaheim chiles for their fresh chili flavor and JalapeƱos to add heat.
My second trick is to brown all the ingredients. This amplifies the inherent umami of each element thanks to the Maillard reaction. It also smoothes off the rough edges of some of the ingredients, bringing out their sweetness while adding depth and complexity to this relatively simple dish.
Finally, I like to add a touch of honey. Not enough to make it sweet, but the small amount is enough to reign in the tartness of the tomatillos allowing the flavor of chiles and umami of the pork to shine.
While the dish isn’t complicated to make, it does take a while to develop the flavor of the sauce while rendering the pork tender. That’s why one batch should be enough to feed 8-10 people. If you don’t have that many people to feed, don’t worry. The leftovers have so many uses you could make 3-4 meals out of this.
Stuffed into masa and rolled in corn husks, this makes amazing tamales. Thinned out with some chicken stock and loaded up with veggies, the Chile Verde makes for an amazing tortilla soup. But perhaps my favorite use of these leftovers is to make Huevos Rancheros Verdes.
Ingredients
- 326 grams Poblano chili peppers (3 large peppers)
- 222 grams Anaheim chili peppers (2 medium peppers)
- 140 grams JalapeƱo peppers (3 large, to taste)
- 40 grams garlic (6 cloves, unpeeled)
- 375 grams onion (1 x-large onion, peeled and quartered)
- 1200 grams tomatillos
- 25 grams cilantro
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1700 grams pork shoulder (cut into 2-inch cubes)
- 4 cups
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- cilantro (for garnish)
- cotija (for garnish)
Steps
- Preheat your oven to its highest setting (or turn the broiler on)
- Wash the Poblano, Anaheim and JalapeƱo peppers and cut slits in them to prevent them from popping. Put them on sheet pans along with the garlic, and onions.
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash them thoroughly to remove as much of the waxy residue from their surface as you can. Cut slits in them to prevent them from popping in the oven and put them on sheet pans as well.
- Put the green chili peppers in the oven and roast until the skin has blistered and started to blacken. Flip them over and roast until the second side matches.
- Put the tomatillos in the oven and roast until they're lightly scorched on top.
- When the green chilies are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool until you can handle them. Remove as much skin as you can from the peppers (you don't have to get it all). Then remove the stems and seeds along with any light-colored membranes. Peel the garlic.
- Put the roasted green chilies, tomatillos, onions, garlic, and cilantro into a food processor and process until no large chunks are remaining.
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the pork.
- Add the vegetable oil to the preheated pot and add the pork in a single layer, leaving a bit of space between each piece of pork (if it doesn't all fit, then do this in two batches). Let the pork brown on one side undisturbed and then flip and brown the other side.
- Add the green chili and tomatillo puree to the pot, along with the chicken stock, honey, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, and salt. Scrape up the browned bits of pork juice from the bottom of the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the Chili Verde simmer until the pork is fall-apart tender (about 2 1/2 hours).
- Adjust seasoning to taste and serve the Chile Verde with warm tortillas, fresh cilantro and cotija cheese for garnish.
Wow! I don’t usually crave savoury food in the morning, especially right after having breakfast, but this makes me hungry!
Mmm, the hints of cinnamon and honey with the roasted veggies! It’s too bad all we can do is taste with our eyes…
This looks wonderful!!!
That looks mighty tasty!
Cheers,
Rosa
I love your chile verde recipe! I’m a huge a fan of both serranos and anaheim. I’m defenitely trying this š
I’m drooling over that Chile Verde con Huevos. I love a nice egg dish. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent dish!
Yum, I LOVE chile verde… I would never think to put honey in it! Thanks for the recipe.
Such a wonderful creation! I’d love to see the recipe for home made tortillas.
Wow! I don’t usually crave savoury food in the morning, especially right after having breakfast, but this makes me hungry!
Mmm, the hints of cinnamon and honey with the roasted veggies! It’s too bad all we can do is taste with our eyes…
This looks wonderful!!!
That looks mighty tasty!
Cheers,
Rosa
I love your chile verde recipe! I’m a huge a fan of both serranos and anaheim. I’m defenitely trying this š
I’m drooling over that Chile Verde con Huevos. I love a nice egg dish. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent dish!
Chile verde is one of my fave dishes. We just made grilled beef tacos last night. So with a stack of tortillas left over, I am so trying this dish.
What a nice name…. Chile Verde… I like how the dish looks and the sound of the name š
Yum, I LOVE chile verde… I would never think to put honey in it! Thanks for the recipe.
Such a wonderful creation! I’d love to see the recipe for home made tortillas.
Marc, this is some serious cooking. I love it and will try to make it, but I have to substitute the pork with lamb. My husband is Jewish, so he is not that keen if I cook pork at home. Lamb will be good?
Cheers,
Elra
Chile verde is one of my fave dishes. We just made grilled beef tacos last night. So with a stack of tortillas left over, I am so trying this dish.
We did a quick and lazy/”short-cut-ty” chicken chili verde the other day and I can’t wait to try this dish with pork. The promise of chili verde with eggs is just too tempting for me. Your breakfast plate looks stunning! Perfect way to take on the day.
OHgodnomnomnom…
I love chile verde and could wreck that plate with a stack of tortillas. The egg on top is hot secks.
What a nice name…. Chile Verde… I like how the dish looks and the sound of the name š
Marc, this is some serious cooking. I love it and will try to make it, but I have to substitute the pork with lamb. My husband is Jewish, so he is not that keen if I cook pork at home. Lamb will be good?
Cheers,
Elra
We did a quick and lazy/”short-cut-ty” chicken chili verde the other day and I can’t wait to try this dish with pork. The promise of chili verde with eggs is just too tempting for me. Your breakfast plate looks stunning! Perfect way to take on the day.
OHgodnomnomnom…
I love chile verde and could wreck that plate with a stack of tortillas. The egg on top is hot secks.
The breakfast chili with egg looks amazing!! I won’t have trouble waking up everyday if I have that to look forward to!
There isn’t so much a recipe as much as technique (there’s really only 1 ingredient), but I’ll get around to posting it soon.
You can try lamb, but make sure you use a cut with lots of fat otherwise it will get dry. You could also use chicken thighs
The breakfast chili with egg looks amazing!! I won’t have trouble waking up everyday if I have that to look forward to!
That looks amazing. Have you ever made Arapas? It’s a South American kind of bread. I saw a few weeks ago on Throw Down with Bobby Flay. It’s also made with Masa. Your chili with the Arapas is something I will have to try. I’ll let you know how it comes out!
Oh great. Now I won’t be able to order it in a restaurant because I’ll be thinking about how much better it’d be made by Mr. Marc! And I don’t get tomatillos back in Manila (but, hmm… maybe here… š
Yes! Chile Verde is right up there at the top of my favorites! I love it too with eggs for breakfast. A good chile verde burrito. I’m glad to see you used tomatillos as a lot of people make this using only green chiles.
That looks amazing. Have you ever made Arapas? It’s a South American kind of bread. I saw a few weeks ago on Throw Down with Bobby Flay. It’s also made with Masa. Your chili with the Arapas is something I will have to try. I’ll let you know how it comes out!
Oh great. Now I won’t be able to order it in a restaurant because I’ll be thinking about how much better it’d be made by Mr. Marc! And I don’t get tomatillos back in Manila (but, hmm… maybe here… š
Yes! Chile Verde is right up there at the top of my favorites! I love it too with eggs for breakfast. A good chile verde burrito. I’m glad to see you used tomatillos as a lot of people make this using only green chiles.
One of my favorite meals. It looks great!
One of my favorite meals. It looks great!
I really like the idea of your recipe. You really seem to know your stuff. I personally wouldnt use olive oil. This is a mexican dish we use manteca (lard) and cilantro leaves plus stems.
I wouldnt use honey either but I am sure for people who cant handle the heat that is a good idea to tone it down.
I really like the idea of your recipe. You really seem to know your stuff. I personally wouldnt use olive oil. This is a mexican dish we use manteca (lard) and cilantro leaves plus stems.
I wouldnt use honey either but I am sure for people who cant handle the heat that is a good idea to tone it down.
This is a nice recipe that is simple enough to put together when the moment hits you, as long as you have access to the peppers. She can come out purdy greazy so you might consider a little leaner cut or drain off a little. Great pictures. Good job, thanks for sharing.
This is a nice recipe that is simple enough to put together when the moment hits you, as long as you have access to the peppers. She can come out purdy greazy so you might consider a little leaner cut or drain off a little. Great pictures. Good job, thanks for sharing.
In New Mexico we would call this green chile stew, except I don’t think it usually has tomatillos. I’ll have to get some and try it.
In New Mexico we would call this green chile stew, except I don’t think it usually has tomatillos. I’ll have to get some and try it.
Yum.
How many people does this recipe serve?
It depends on the portions you serve, but it should comfortably feed 4.
We tried this recipe the other night and really enjoyed the flavors. The only thing is that it turned out too salty. I think 1Tbsp of salt with the pork was what did it. We’re planning to make it again without the salt and then mix the two together, hopefully balancing out the salty-ness. Besides that the dish was really good and we will definitely make it again.
Hi Corrie, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Did you use kosher salt? The grains of
kosher salt are bigger, so if you use regular table salt, you need to halve
the amount of salt.
I know i’m asking for a mexican recipe so my question is can i get a mexican recipe from a mexican?
Everyone who has enjoyed this recipe is not mexican i repeat not mexican. If possible post a good comment up by a real mexican that enjoyed this recipe.
yeah i noticed that to. I have a love for the mexican traditional food although I am not mexican and would love to make authentic food at home.
Just so everyone knows,
mexicans have no recipes………..
WHAT?! Mexicans are not known for chili verde. This is a American-Mexican dish. I’ve looked for chili verde recipes in mexican cook books and cannot find them. Your comment is nonsense. Does a mexican have a tongue that can taste better for mexican food than non mexican tongue? By the way I am of hispanic who was born here, I have nothing in common with actual Mexican culture or cuisine. My ancesters are Basque and American Indian.
I like to use country-style ribs in my chili verde. I don’t think you can ever have too much pork bone. . .
It called puerco en salsa verde and it is a Mexican dish.
oh poor poor grizzly has know class
Geez people! Food is Love! Get over yourselves and enjoy a good meal.
You are a moron, I repeat moron.
Poor Lisa doesn’t have the socioeconomic class enough to know the difference between know and no. Also, in general Mexicans do not go by recipes due to their culture and economy being destroyed during by conquering imperialists. Many of the indigenous tribes were forces into more harsh terrain where it was and still is difficult to get to many ingredients. If you train with a chef familiar with many Mexican regional “recipes” or many Mexican’s of indigenous decent, you’ll find they agree with Grizelda’s statement.
It is pretty much universally known that “Chile Verde” refers to pork shoulder cooked in a “green salsa”. If you order Chile Verde, you will receive pork. It will be a rarity for it to be referred to as puerco en salsa verde, though this is technically what the dish is.
Gotta use the tomatillos! NUM! š
Can cilantro leaves and stems be used in place of the root?
Yes, but you’ll need to add more.
I sure get tired of the uppity mexican comments all the time. The reason mexicans dont have recipes has nothing to do with “conquering imperialists” they are just illiterate and devoid of writing skills, due to a poor educational system. Anyway, this forum is about a food recipe, which happens to be a damn good one. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you make this recipe with chicken instead of pork
Yep, but be sure to use chicken thigh as breast meat will end up very dry if you cook it this long.
I made this dish a week ago, came out just beautiful. BUT it was spicy HOT!! I’ll have to cut back on the Serrano peppers this weekend. YES, I’m making it again
I made this dish a week ago, came out just beautiful. BUT it was spicy HOT!! I’ll have to cut back on the Serrano peppers this weekend. YES, I’m making it again
Ok, made chile verde again and 2 serrano peppers is the sweet…err…right heat spot, at least for me. Fantastic on homemade Arepas. Sorta like a pulled pork sammich on steroids.
I substituted a few ingredients, green tomatoes for tomatillos, unidentified peppers of similar heat found in the garden (previous owner planted but didn’t know the name in english) for the called for peppers, and it still turned out delicious! Apparently its a pretty flexible recipe – great for using early or late season garden veggies. Thanks!
Loved this dish!
i would only like to add (forgive if someone beat me to it) that Mexican Oregano should be mentioned. It has a more suitable flavor than a Meditteranean (Italian) style, in my opinion. That being said, you may want to omit any honey.
I’ve made this 4 times now, I used to live in NM, the land of green Chile enchantment, and miss the great food. I love this version of Chile verde, its as if I were back in NM! Thanks for the great recipe, its fantastico!
Glad to hear you’ve enjoyed it!
I just found this recipe on Pinterest, and am trying it today. I’m thinking of omitting the cinnamon and honey. I wonder, do they make the sauce especially sweet, or is it more of a background flavor kind of thing?
Hi Jeannette, the honey does not make the sauce very sweet, it’s meant to mellow out the tartness of the tomatillos as they can be very sour. As for the cinnamon, it’s a spice often used in savory Mexican dishes and is not meant to make the dish sweet.
Thanks for the Reply! I tried it as written and WOW. So Good!!
This recipe is the BOMB! OMG so good. Made it for a party with the chicken thighs and EVERYBODY wanted the recipe. Have made it every month since!
well you did it again!!! Your menudo recipe blew the socks off a “menudo” know-it-all LOL…now I make it about 2 times a month and freeze what I can’t eat immediately. This chile verde is some of the best i’ve ever had/it’s now in my recipe go-to place. Hats off, Marc – you are fantastico.
Marc is good! regardless of origin >> š your loss
I made this today and it was really fantastic.
One of the best things my husband and I have ever eaten, no joke. Made a quadruple recipe last time, using the stock pot and the slow-cooker, because we can’t get enough of it. Thank you SO much for sharing this deliciousness with us.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! This is still one of my favorites too.
Made this tonight for the first time. Tasty. Added probably double the garlic and only did half the serranos and deseeded them. No heat, so next time I’ll try 3 serranos with seeds as definitely needs the heat. The cinnamon stick was perfect, gave the recipe a nice depth. Also added 6 stems with leaves as couldn’t locate roots. Going to make this again this weekend for a party. My wife hates Chile Verde and loved this dish.
I made this yesterday. Marinated the meat overnight. My meat was a TINY bit dry. How would I make it more moist? Also, In restaurants its usually more green, is there a way to make it greener without losing the flavor? Otherwise it was a phenomenal dish. I made it for my boyfriend as this is one of his favorite dishes when we go out. Thanks!
Hi KaylaLynn, if the meat was dry, the most likely culprit is the fat content if your pork shoulder. It needs to have a lot of fat and connective tissue to keep it moist as it cooks. Not all pork shoulders are created equal, so be sure to pick out one with lots of fat, preferably marbled into the meat (as opposed to being in separate chunks). As for the color, the roasting and long cooking time will discolor the tomatillo, but these steps are important for flavor. If you want it more green you could try adding some purĆ©ed cilantro just befor serving.ā Sent from Mailbox
Marc,
OK, I have to say this is now one of my husband’s favorite meals. I cook a lot of Mexican/Latin based foods, often from my own garden grown peppers and veggies. I have cooked this recipe 5 times now, and keep a stash in the freezer for those night hubby has to heat something up. A keeper recipe for sure. THANK YOU!
Marc,
I can’t get cilantro with the root how much stems and leaves would I use? Also should I chop it or whole? Does it stay in the finished product?
Thank you,
Janet
Hi Janet, maybe about 15 stems? You could mince them and they’ll melt into the stew, or you can tie them into a bundle and pick them out at the end.
Thank you! It looks fabulous. All my favorite things is in it!
This review is long overdue. I have used your Chile Verde recipe probably over 10 times now. But let me first start out by saying ( don’t hate me for this), I have never been a fan of Mexican food. I have always found it to be bland for my pallet but Chile Verde was one dish I would order and eat . Ironically, I came across this recipe a few years ago while trying to make a halal version for a friend I was visiting in Ohio, who had never heard of Chile Verde. I wasn’t even sure if we would be able to find fresh tomatillos at 10:30 at night when the inspiration hit. Sure enough Walmart carried some of the best tomatillos I had seen. At about 2:30am when this dish was ready ( made with chicken breast with bone ), my friend who had never tried the original could not stop licking his lips. The next time I had the same reaction was when visiting a friend in Arizona whose parents are from Mexico. Well I was lucky enough to find the fattiest pork I had ever seen and made the most moist , tender juicy Chile Verde. Her father was scrapping all the juice off the plate with his corn tortillas. He even used his finger to get the last of the sauce. I could not have been more honored. I have unfortunately been unable to recreate those successes here back in California as I keep having the hardest time finding a good fatty pork butt, even the mexican markets don’t seem to have meat with enough fat on it. This has become my goto once a month weekday meal. My Indonesian neighbor who does not eat red meat or pork was blown away by my version with turkey thighs and asked for the recipe including advice on where to find cilantro roots which of course I have never found and just used regular stalks and leaves. I plan to try some of your other mexican recipes as my husband is a big fan of mexican food. Great work and love your website.
Hi Dee, I’m so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying this! I also have a version with lamb on the site, the next time you need to make it halal. As for pork, you could do it with a mixture of pork shoulder and pork belly, which would definitely up the fat factor. Also when looking for pork shoulder, I find the very red ones tend to be more moist than the ones that are lighter pink. It probably has to do with the amount of connective tissue in the redder meat. I hope that helps!
Hi Marc, thanks for tip will try that next time. Will update when I try the lamb version, thanks again
Hi Marc
Do you skin any of your peppers?
Hi Marc
Hi Robin, nope, I don’t skin the peppers.
dd
Marc, I just made this and I love it. I made it as written but I roasted the veggie’s at 400 for 20/25 minutes instead of broiling them. Topped them with a little olive oil and kosher salt before putting them in the oven. I left the seed in the hot pepper just right for me. Love Love it. Thank you for the post
Hi Janet, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this!
Amazing chile verde, thank you so much for sharing! I made this for my step-mom, who is half Mexican, and she said it was the best she’d ever had! I double, and roast all vegetables ahead and freeze in two Ziploc bags so when I’m ready to make green chile it’s a faster process.
Hi Wendi, I’m glad to hear your step-mom approves! Also great call on doubling and freezing the roasted ingredients. I’m gonna have to do that the next time I make this.
I made this dish for friends and was afraid it would have too much spice, but they loved it. Roasting the vegetables separately gave it great flavor and the chile flavor was unique. Thank you!
Hi Tim, glad to hear you and your friends enjoyed it! This is one of my favorites.
Your Chile Verde recipe has been one of our go-to favorites for years now. It is spectacular! The original recipe (sorry, I know *no* recipes), which I can no longer find on this website, had Serrano peppers instead of Jalapenos. After trying this version, we find we prefer the old recipe and we think the Serrano pepper is the difference. (It also had other steps like marinating the pork.)
Hi gjg97, thanks for the feedback. The reason I changed the Serranos to Jalapenos is because I received a couple complaints that the Serranos made the Chile too spicy to eat. In my own testing I found Serrano’s to have a much wider range of spiciness (i.e. range of capsaicin levels) than jalapeƱos, which is why I decided the later were a safer option. You can always either add or substitute in Serrano’s if you like more heat. As for the marination, it’s an extra step in an already long process and I’m not really sure why it would make a big difference which is why I cut it out. One possibility is that the marinade had an extra tablespoon of kosher salt, so if you’re not adding that much when you salt and pepper the pork, it’s possible your Chile is not getting enough salt (which would make it taste blander). It’s always my intent to improve recipes when I iterate on them, so that’s for keeping me on my toes!
Iām in the process of making this as I type. When I was seeding and peeling the roasted peppers, I had my doubts whether it was all worth it, however, now that everything is simmering, and the aroma of all that deliciousness fills the air, Iām glad I put in the effort! The cumin, cinnamon and honey add just the right flavor. I reduced the amount of chicken broth to 1 1/2 cups to start, but will add the rest as needed. So far, I think itās a winner and Iām certain itāll become a family favorite! It smells like a real Mexican restaurant in here! Yum!
Hi Leslie, thanks for checking in. I’m all about value for effort, and am the first to take shortcuts if there isn’t a ton of value in doing it the long way, but some dishes just turn out that much butter for the effort you put in and I think this is one of those dishesš I hope you enjoy it! The leftovers are great for making a green Huevos Rancheros https://norecipes.com/huevos-rancheros/
Marc, I really enjoy your site. Thank you!! I know you continually evolve your recipes. Iāve been making Chile Verde for years now using an earlier version (original?) of your recipe. Can you share your thoughts (more relating to flavor profiles than ease of prep) around moving away from marinating the pork, coarsely chopping the veg and from Serranos to JalapeƱos?
Hi Joe, you’re welcome! Good questions. I stopped marinating because I found it didn’t make a noticeable difference in the finished dish. Marinating does too things, it infuses flavor to the core of the meat, and there are enzymes in certain ingredients (like garlic and onion) that can tenderize meat. Since this is braised for so long, you get plenty of flavor in the meat, and it gets tenderized by cooking. Coarsely chopping makes for a more chunky sauce which I like. As for the peppers, I switched to JalapeƱos to make this more kid friendly (JalapeƱos are significantly less spicy, but still have that nice green chili flavor). The thought here being that people who want heat can add hot sauce to it after it’s done. I hope that helps!
Make this recipe! It is exceptionally delicious. I’ve made it many times and it never disappoints.
Hi Cindy, I’m so glad to hear you’re been enjoying this! It’s one of my favorite stews!
I love the chile, easy and good,but I cant cover the cinimine up, I put 1 teas. but its overpowering my chile. What can I use to tone it down a little?
Hi Dennis, sorry to hear you felt the cinnamon was overpowering. You can just cut back on the amount, or leave it out entirely if it’s a taste you don’t enjoy.