Chile Verde (La Frontera Style)
This is my recreation of the chile verde made by La Frontera restaurants in Salt Lake City. It is best served over bean burritos, with shredded cheese, diced onions, and salsa as desired. Note: I am not associated with La Frontera; I created this recipe myself, with the goal of recreating the flavor of their chile verde.
This is my recreation of the chile verde made by La Frontera restaurants in Salt Lake City. It is best served over bean burritos, with shredded cheese, diced onions, and salsa as desired. Note: I am not associated with La Frontera; I created this recipe myself, with the goal of recreating the flavor of their chile verde.
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 pounds pork
- 6 jalapeno peppers small
- 6 serrano peppers
- 3 anaheim peppers optional
- 8 tomatillos
- 1 sweet onion large
- 0.5 cup cilantro fresh
- 1 4-oz can green chilis
- 1 10-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup flour for browning the pork.
- 1 teaspoon salt for browning the pork.
- 1 teaspoon pepper for browning the pork.
- Carbohydrate 13.6884208333333 g
- Cholesterol 50.652 mg
- Fat 11.9544358333333 g
- Fiber 2.60981666266918 g
- Protein 16.731 g
- Saturated Fat 4.08297233333333 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (258g)
- Sodium 389.6425 mg
- Sugar 11.0786041706642 g
- Trans Fat 1.31503091666667 g
- Calories 228 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut the pork into small chunks. You can use pork roast, pork loin, or Boston butt.
- Husk the tomatillos, de-stem them, and cut them into large chunks.
- Cut the jalapenos, Anaheim peppers, and Serrano peppers into large chunks.
- Put tomatillos and peppers and cilantro in a food processor, puree them all.
- Add the can of green chilis, diced tomatos, and tomato sauce to the food processor.
- Continue blending until the mixture is a consistant color.
- Pour the vegetable puree into a crock-pot.
- Add the chicken broth, oregano, cumin, and chili powder.
- Turn the crock-pot on high and cover.
- Dust the pork with flour, salt and pepper.
- Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil, shortening, or lard in a frying pan.
- Add the garlic and onions, sauté until the onions are tender.
- Add the pork, brown it thoroughly.
- Pour the entire pan’s contents (including drippings) into the crock-pot.
- Cook in the crock-pot on high for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, reduce the heat to medium or low and cook for at least another 2 hours. For very tender pork, cook on low heat for 8 or more hours.
- 30 minutes before serving, mix the cornstarch with 2 ounces of cold water, and add it to the crock-pot. Add more if you want to thicken it further.
- Serve over bean burritos. I used flour tortillas, with refried beans, chopped onions, and cheese wrapped inside. Bake the burritos in the oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes (until the tortilla just barely starts to dry out). Cover them with the chili verde and pork, then garnish (or further smother) with onions and cheese.
Raw tomatillos contain high levels of malic and citric acids, which provide the sharp, bright foundation for this sauce but prevent connective tissue in pork from breaking down efficiently if the pH remains too low during the initial hours of simmering. Balancing these organic acids with chicken broth and aromatic vegetables ensures the environment supports collagen denaturation without turning the meat chalky. High heat processing in a food processor ruptures cell walls across the jalapeños, serranos, and tomatillos, releasing pectin that naturally body-builds the liquid before the final cornstarch slurry is introduced.
Browning the cubed pork shoulder in a skillet coated with flour, salt, and pepper creates Maillard compounds that infuse the pan drippings with savory depth before everything transfers to the slow cooker. Dusting the meat lightly traps surface moisture, protecting the muscle fibers from drying out during the sear while providing residual starches that help emulsify the pork fat into the surrounding braising liquid. Sautéing the minced garlic and sweet onion alongside the meat until translucent softens their harsh allium sulfur compounds, yielding a rounded sweetness that tempers the aggressive capsaicin heat of the mixed peppers.
Extended cooking times transform tough cuts like Boston butt or pork loin by converting insoluble collagen into gelatin, a process requiring sustained heat between 190 degrees Fahrenheit and 200 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature for optimal tenderness. Maintaining a two-hour high heat phase followed by a two-to-eight-hour lower heat descent allows the pork fibers to relax completely while absorbing the surrounding pepper and tomatillo flavors. Stirring in a slurry of two tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with two ounces of cold water thirty minutes prior to serving activates the starch granules at a simmer, thickening the juices into a glossy glaze that clings properly to wrapped bean burritos.
Scaling quantities upward or downward requires proportional adjustments to the thickening agents and cooking vessels, though excess liquid may need reduction on a stovetop if the slow cooker lid traps too much condensation. Freezing leftover portions in airtight containers preserves the structural integrity of the sauce for up to three months, provided the dairy garnishes are omitted until final reheating and assembly.
