Green Chili with Pork

A few weeks back we attended a Chili & Frijole Festival in Pueblo, CO. The smells of all the roasting chili peppers was AMAZING. We walked around the festival and sampled many of the chili dishes being offered. We stopped at Nana’s tent and had some of her award winning Green Chili. It was pretty awesome. I started thinking, why don’t I buy some of those fresh roasted chili peppers and make some of my own? Then I’m not limited to just one bowl. That’s just what I did. I purchased two bags of roasted Anaheim chilis and one bag of roasted Poblano chilis along with a bag of freshly dried pinto beans.

Now I have made many batches of traditional chili but never a green chili so I went to the googles to find a recipe. What I found was a recipe for Colorado Green Chili and another for New Mexico Green Chili. What was the difference? I found the main difference was that it cannot be called New Mexico Green Chili unless the chilis are actually from New Mexico. They have their own distinct flavor. After looking at both of the recipes this is my take on a Green Chili. Bill and I were pleasantly surprised with how GREAT this turned out. We both ate two bowls each and were happily stuffed, like a chili relleno.

First the beans:

2 cups dried pinto beans
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
2 15oz cans of chicken broth

Soak beans overnight in water with 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

Use sauté setting on the IntantPot and sauté the onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add the cumin, oregano, paprika and salt and cook until fragrant.

Drain water from the beans and add them to the instant pot with the chicken broth. Stir everything up real good.

Using the manual pressure setting on the InstantPot, cook for 35 minutes then allow the pressure to release naturally.

Beans should be soft and in a nice gravy.

Now the Chili:

12 roasted green chilis with a medium dice (Hatch or Anaheim depending on your heat preference)
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 Tablespoons of cornmeal (if you like your chili thicker, add more cornmeal or thicken with cornstartch)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt to taste
2 pounds of pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1” cubes and salted lightly.
1 cup of beer
4 cups of chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
Canola Oil

Add enough oil to the InstantPot to coat the bottom. Saute the onions and garlic until soft. Add the cumin and oregano and cook until fragrant. Remove from the pot and add to the diced green chilis.

Add more oil to the InstantPot to coat the bottom. Brown the cubed pork in batches. Remove from pot but leave any fat in the pot.

Next, add cornmeal to fat (you may need to add a little more oil) to make a roux then add the cup of beer and scrape up all brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, pork and chili/onion mixture to the pot.

Place the lid on the pot and using the slow cooker setting, cook on low for 6 hours.

The chili can be thickened at this point with an equal mixture of cornstarch and water to your desired taste.

Place a scoop of the beans with their gravy in your bowl and then ladle the chili on top. Enjoy with any topping of your choice. Some suggestions; sour cream, cilantro, lime or tortilla strips.