Get Ready For A Tasty, Spicy and Delicious Dinner!
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients:
1 3.5-4 Pound port butt roast, trimmed and cut into 1.5 inch pieces, trimmings reserved.
1 T + 1 t kosher salt divided
1 C water
1.5 pounds tomatillos, husks & stems removed, rinsed and dried
5 poblano chilies, stemmed, halved, & seeded
1 LG onion cut into 8 wedges
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 jalapeno chili, stemmed and halved
1 t dried oregano
1 t ground cumin
1/8 t ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 t sugar
1 t pepper
½ c minced fresh cilantro plus extra for serving
Lime wedges
Directions
Toss pork pieces with 1 T salt in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Meanwhile, chop trimmings coarse. Transfer to Dutch oven. Add water and bring to simmer over high heat. Cook, adjusting to maintain vigorous simmer and stirring occasionally, until all liquid evaporates, and trimmings begin to sizzle, about 12 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until dark fonds forms on bottom of pot and trimmings have browned and crisped, about 6 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, discard trimmings. Pour off some fat into a glass measuring cup leaving at least 2 T of fat inside pot.
Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position and second rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place tomatillos, poblanos, onions, garlic & jalapeno on prepared sheet and brush with fat in glass measuring cup. Arrange chilis skin side up. Broil until chili skins are blackened and vegetables begin to soften, 10 – 13 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through broiling. Transfer poblanos, jalapeno, and garlic to cutting board.
Turn off broiler and heat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer tomatillos, onion, and any accumulated juices to food processor. When poblanos, jalapeno, and garlic are cool enough to handle, remove and discard skins (it’s ok if some small bits of chili skin remain). Remove seeds from jalapeno and reserve. Add poblanos, jalapeno, and garlic to processor. Pulse until mixture is roughly pureed, about 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. If spicier chili is desired, add reserved jalapeno seeds and pulse 3 times.
Heat reserved fat in pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add oregano, cumin, cinnamon and cook stirring consistently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatillo mixture, bay leaves, sugar, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt, scraping up any browned bits. Stir port and bring to simmer. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until pork is tender, about 1.5 hours, stirring halfway through cooking.
Remove pot from oven and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Using heatproof rubber spatula, scrape browned bits from sides of pot. Stir any fat that has risen to the top of chili. Stir in cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro and enjoy!
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated