Pork Chile Colorado Recipes

CHILI COLORADO

Steps:

• Place 3 tablespoons flour in a plastic bag. Add pork and shake to lightly coat with flour. Set aside.
• Heat bacon drippings and vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add pork and cook until meat is evenly browned, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour, and cook 3 minutes. Stir in the onion, tomato sauce, chile powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until pork is just falling apart, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

CHILE COLORADO WITH PORK AND NOPALES

Steps:

• Place the meat in a large heavy pot. Add ¼ of the white onion, 2 bay leaves, and 2 of the garlic cloves. Cover with 1½ cups of water and turn the heat to high. Once it starts boiling, reduces the heat to low and gently simmers. Cooking the meat will take about 20-30 minutes, this will give you plenty of time to prepare the sauce and to precook the nopales.
• While the meat is cooking, clean the peppers by removing the seeds and veins. Place them in a saucepan, cover with water, and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the water starts boiling, turn off the heat, cover the saucepan, and set aside for 20 minutes or until the peppers are soft.
• Precooking the nopales: Place the chopped nopales in a saucepan, cover with 4 cups of water, and cook over a medium heat. As soon as the water starts boiling, reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes. After this, remove the nopales from the heat, strain, and set aside.
• By this time, the water in the pot where you're cooking the meat should have been reduced, and the meat will start to brown in its own fat. Remove the garlic and onion. If the meat is too lean and doesn't render any fat, add 2 tablespoons of lard or vegetable oil. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of flour and stir well, browning the pieces of meat.
• Drain the peppers from their soaking water. In a blender, place the peppers, ¼ of the white onion (chopped), 2 garlic cloves, cumin, and oregano, along with 1-1/2 cup of water. Blend on high until you have a very fine puree.
• Pour the sauce over the cooking meat using a strainer (stir and add more water, if needed, to create a smooth sauce). Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and simmer for 15 more minutes until the meat is really tender and the sauce has thickened a little.
• Stir in the cooked and drained nopales, and keep cooking for 5 more minutes. Taste to see if it needs some adjustment with the seasoning, I know some of you would like to add more cumin and oregano. Serve with rice, beans, and a stack of warm flour tortillas.

PORK GREEN CHILI (COLORADO STYLE)

Steps:

• Sear pork in 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add 4 cans chicken broth and 6 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer until pork falls apart (aprox 3 hours).
• Meanwhile, chop onion, garlic, and anaheims. Saute in 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Chop tomatillos, serranos, and stewed tomatoes. Puree 2 cans chopped green chilis. Set all aside.
• When done, sift pork out of juice and shred, then add back.
• Add all ingredients except flour and 2 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least one hour.
• In a separate container mix 2 cups water and 1 cup flour, shake well (grandmas rule was 100 shakes). Add mixture to chili slowly to achieve desired thickness.

CHILI COLORADO

Steps:

• Spread the flour out on a plate and coat the beef cubes one by one in it, dusting off the excess. Don't skip this step because the flour also helps to thicken the sauce at the end.
• Brown the beef in a heavy-bottomed pot in the oil over medium-high heat. You want a lot of color on them because color equals flavor.
• Pour in all the spices, the tomato paste, and the water. Bring this to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, and cook low and slow for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the beef is tender and falling apart. A good test is to take a piece and try to mash it on your cutting board with a fork. If it falls apart, you are golden.
• Serve it just by itself with mexican rice and refried beans or use it as a burrito filling.

CHILE COLORADO

Steps:

• Place chiles and 3 cups water into a medium stockpot, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes to soften. Strain into a bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Place the chiles and some of the liquid into a blender, and puree until smooth. Add more liquid as necessary to form a smooth sauce. Pass sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove any seeds and the tough skins; set aside.
• Cut the roast into 1 to 2 inch chunks. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the beef chunks in the seasoned flour; set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beef chunks a few at a time, so as not to overcrowd the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Remove cooked meat, and continue browning remaining meat. Return reserved cooked meat to the pot. Stir in pureed chile mixture. Add beef stock to just cover beef chunks, or to personal preference. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to lowest setting, and simmer for 3 hours, or until meat is tender. If necessary, adjust with more stock during cooking.