New Mexico Green Chili?
I was just recently in New Mexico for the Hot Air Balloon Festival. Had such an incredible time but what else was incredible was their green chili. I basically ordered it on everything I ate. I went to a McDonald’s and they even offer it on their cheeseburger. I was wondering if anyone knows the recipe on making the green chili so I can impress my friends. And where I can buy the all the products.
Thanks
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound pork loin — cut into 1/2-inch chunks and remove all visible fat
3 small garlic cloves — finely minced
1 red onion — finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons flour — preferably masa flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
28 oz. New Mexican chiles — roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper — optional and preferably fresh
1 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
2-3/4 cup chicken broth
2 large fresh tomatoes — pureed (or peeled and chopped) (optional)
A completely traditional Mexican Chile Verde is a green chile stew without any tomatoes at all; however, in practice it is far more common to include some tomatoes … some “green” chilis use so many the color becomes red and the flavor becomes heavily tomato, but that’s definitely overdoing it! This recipe has just a couple of tomatoes, to lend the richer, smoother flavor they impart, but not so many to adulterate the green chile character.
The flavor of green chili is influenced most by the kind of green chiles you decide to use. There are about 200 varieties of chiles, only three or four of which are commonly used in green chili.
Traditional New Mexican green chiles are a special variety that were originally bred in New Mexico from Anaheims, and which (last I knew) aren’t grown outside that state. The growing climate and the varietal breeding has created chiles that are both hotter and more flavorful. Of these, my personal favorites are “Big Jim” New Mexican chiles … plenty of fire but also lots of flavor. Anaheims have some flavor but very little fire, so they’re usually mixed with the much hotter Jalapenos. Other chiles such as Poblanos or Habaneros (a/k/a Scotch Bonnets) have incredible fire (literally thousands of times hotter than any Anaheim, by scientific measure, as seen below), but not all will have equivalent flavor. Nonetheless, there is no reason to limit yourself to these, if you enjoy experimentation. It’s similar to choosing what variety of apples you prefer.
Leon Guanajuato. Festival del Globo. Mexico Hot Air Balloons
