Green Chile Braised Pork

There is a town called Pueblo located in southeast Colorado and it is known for its locally grown green chilies. There they grow them in many varieties; hot, medium and mild and add them in almost everything. This recipe has been recreated based on an old Pueblo green chile recipe from long ago. If you don't live in that neck of the woods and cannot find the distinctive Pueblo green chile then you can certainly substitute any number of other green chilies for this recipe. This recipe is very simple with few ingredients and limited prep work. It takes cubes of inexpensive pork butt or shoulder and braises it in a spicy sauce filled with green chilies, tomatoes, onions and garlic. It has an amazing flavor for so few ingredients. This recipe has been prepared to serve eight because you may want to have leftovers for another night or your family might just be asking for seconds. And with so few carbs in each serving you might just want to indulge yourself. I hope you enjoy.

Green Chile Braised Pork

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pork cubes, butt or shoulder, trimmed of all visible fat

1 cup onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups whole peeled or diced tomatoes

6 to 8 Pueblo green chilies (substitute Anaheim, Cubanelle, Pablano or Banana peppers)

2 cups + 1/3 cup water

1 1/2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

salt and pepper

vegetable spray

Preheat broiler.

Begin by roasting the green chilies. Place them on the broiler tray a few inches from the heat and blacken them on each side. Remove, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for about 10 minutes. When peppers are cool enough to handle peel off the skin and scrape out the seeds, ribs and stem. If you prefer more heat you can leave in the seeds and ribs. Chop and set aside.

Lightly coat the bottom of a large pot with vegetable spray and heat on medium high. Add the onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper if desired and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the pork cubes and brown. If using whole tomatoes pour off the liquid into the pot and chop up the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, green chilies and 2 cups of water and stir. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whisk the remaining water and flour together until smooth and add to the green chile sauce, while constantly stirring. The sauce will thicken slightly. Cover and continue simmering for about 15 minutes longer. The sauce will thicken more while cooking.

Nutrition Facts

8 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 287.9

Total Fat 17.2 g

Saturated Fat 6.0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.9 g

Monounsaturated Fat 7.5 g

Cholesterol 76.0 mg

Sodium 256.5 mg

Potassium 511.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate 9.6 g

Dietary Fiber 3.2 g

Sugars 3.8 g

Protein 23.3 g