Homemade chile verde is only a few steps away from your dinner or lunch time eats thanks to this supremely simple recipe that’s ready to create lean pork and Hatch chile-sauced burritos in no time flat.
My husband has a several traits that define him.
He’s a hugger. Man, woman, child or animal. Get ready, he’s coming in with a big smile and arms open wide.
He’s funny. When my mom asked what in the world ME—the sorority girl—saw in THIS GUY—the purple haired, ear-lobe-double-pierced singer in a punk band who moonlighted as a waiter—I told her, “He makes me laugh.” She thought I was crazy, and also said just a litttttttle bit more. Now, over 25 years later, she’s laughing at him even harder than I do.
He’s a foodie, and this guy knows what he likes to eat. And when Mexican food is on the menu. it’s no surprise when his number one choice is chile verde. I think he’s been on the hunt to find the best chile verde since he cut teeth. And today, he’s proud to say, he thinks this recipe is it.
Too often, home cooks are intimidated by the notion that chile verde is a complicated recipe to create, when in reality, homemade chile verde is totally quick and easy to make.
This is my man’s recipe for making homemade chile verde that can be just as much a part of your weeknight meals as those spent creating for the weekend. Here’s how…
About the Recipe
This recipe is influenced by years of tastings far and wide. But actually when it came down to it, we discovered the real secrets thanks to friends and family members who are closest to us.
First…At last year’s family reunion, Jeff’s cousin Marty served a killer chile verde that inspired so much of this recipe. Instead of the low and slow cooked pork roast that chile verde is typically known for, Marty used lean cuts of pork chops (he says to get the cheapest cuts) that put his chile verde on the table in no time flat.
These cuts are leaner than roasts so don’t need as long a cooking time to break down, so obviously, we like that.
Next…Every year when they come to visit, our friends Amanda and Adrian bring us fresh roasted New Mexico roasted chiles that go straight into the freezer for a special day. In our opinion, it doesn’t get much more special than chile verde day.
Typically, Hatch chiles are on the spicier side, and if you’re dealing with cultivating a heat seeking chile lover like we are in our 13-year-old daughter who just.hasn’t.come.around.to.the.notion , use a combination of fire roasted chiles with mild chiles instead.
We also cheated the system with our sauce. In my Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde recipe, we go full-on homemade with roasted tomatillos, onions and the lot. But with this recipe, we use store-bought tomatillo salsa that makes life just a little bit easier.
A simple roux of flour and water is all that’s needed to create this Mexican saucy-sauce. Simmer with the scraped-up bits of cooked pork left behinds with the water and flour to create a thickened sauce flavored with garlic and thinly sliced onions added to the chunks of cooked pork.
Chile powder and cumin are the flavor barons in this recipe so long as you don’t leave out the essentials: kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Once the pork and sauce have thickened (in as little as 20 minutes or as long as 3 hours, it’s your choice depending on your time limit and flavor cravings) its time to load your tortillas.
Cheddar cheese or shredded Mexican cheese blend. Sour cream. Onions. Lettuce, tomatoes and salsa on the side.
It’s all there. It’s all ready to be consumed. And if you don’t my man Jeff will more than happily do it for you. Hugs and sour cream at no extra charge.
Recipe Ideas to Serve With Your Chile Verde
These burritos are certainly filling enough, but sometimes you just need a drink, salad and that extra somethin’ somethin’ to complete the meal.
- Boozy Drink: Mango Margaritas with Chile Salt and Lime
- Non-Alcoholic Drink: Authentic Horchata
- Salad: Chopped Mexican Kale Salad
- Side: Healthy Crockpot Refried Beans
- Side: Easy Mexican Rice
- Saucey sauce: Creamy Avocado Salsa Verde
- Dessert: Mexican Brownies
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Quick and Easy Homemade Chile Verde Burritos
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds pork loin sirloin or boneless pork chops
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8-10 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large white onion sliced thinly
- 6 cups water
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 16- ounce jars of tomatillo salsa verde
- 1 7- ounce can jalapeño salsa
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups roasted Hatch chiles chopped, or 1 cup Hatch chiles and 1 cup mild green chiles, chopped if you prefer less heat
- Flour tortillas
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sour cream diced onion, lettuce, and avocado for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the pork into 1/2-inch cubes and season with the garlic salt, black pepper and kosher salt. Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat with half of the vegetable oil. Cook half of the pork until browned, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the rest of the vegetable oil and cook the remaining pork. Add the sliced onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add to the bowl with the first batch of pork. Add 5 cups of water to the dutch oven, bring to a boil, and stir to deglaze all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 1 cup water and the flour to a jar fitted with a lid, shake vigorously until combined, and add to the dutch oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Add the salsa verde, jalapeño salsa, tomato paste, onion, and chiles with the reserved pork and its juices. Bring to a boil then reduce to a bubbling simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes and up to 1 hour for flavors to deepen even more.
- To assemble the burritos, lay out the tortillas and fill the lower 1/3 of the tortilla with 1/2 to 3/4 cup pork and sauce, top with cheese and fold. Place in a baking dish and repeat with the additional burritos. Pour more sauce over the burritos, top with shredded cheese and broil in the oven or toaster oven until the cheese melts. Garnish with sour cream, onion, lettuce and tomatoes if desired.
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molly says
Where do you find can jalapeño salsa? Looks great. I bought some Salsa Verde to make this a few months ago and never found a recipe that looked doable.
Thanks
heidi says
Hi Molly! We used the El Pato brand, you can easily find it in most grocery stores or here –> http://amzn.to/2vsGFAi
It adds a little heat to balance the Salsa Verde sweetness. I hope you enjoy!
Lynn says
Looks great Heidi, must make!
Jessica Orika says
Now this is what I call beautiful!!! Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks for sharing your recipe
Lucy Shuker says
Thank you so much for the nice post.
Julie says
Hi Heidi, I was wondering approximately how many the recipe as written would serve. I understand number of burritos depends on size of tortillas, how full you fill, etc., but I want to serve a party of four and I’m guessing I would want to half the ingredient amounts? Many thanks, looks delicious!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush says
Hi Julie! For four I would keep the recipe as is. You may have some leftovers but better to have too much than not enough!