Cooking Dude

Have fun learning to be a better cook!

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ About ] [ Contact us ] [ Privacy Policy ]

Recipe Index
Kitchen Tools
Pantry
Refrigerator
Seasonings, Herbs, & Spices
Kitchen Safety
Disaster Recovery
Methods
Culinary Terms
Tutorials
Sauces
Appetizers
Soups
Salads
Eggs & Cheese
Sandwiches
Beef & Veal
Pork
Lamb
Poultry
Seafood
Vegetables
Desserts
Breads
Weights and Measures
Links
Link Exchange

Green Chili (Chili Verde)

This dish goes back to the ranching side of our family, and was Lucy's secret for many years. I don't know for sure, but I imagine Lucy has long ago gone to the big roundup in the sky. But we mere mortals can still enjoy her signature dish, and I'm sure she is proud to share it.

One of the differences in this chili and other similar chili verde recipes is that this one uses beef in addition to pork. I think that makes it better.

Mom wrote the recipe down as Lucy dictated it over the phone many years ago, and it was "take some of this and take some of that and do this" kind of instructions. Also she used #2 1/2 cans, and I had to do some Internet research to find out what size can that is today.

The photo shows the most recent batch I made, and the recipe follows. (By the way, a 2 1/2 can is 13 ounces by weight or 3 1/2 cups by volume.)

For the pork, you can either buy a pork butt roast (actually it's the shoulder) or pork stew meat, or, as I sometimes do, leftover pork chops or roast. If you use already cooked meat, just warm it in the first step. For the beef, use chuck roast or buy some stew meat. You can also use hamburger as I did in the photo. For the hamburger, I never use anything leaner than 15% fat. 20% for hamburgers, but 15% is OK for this dish.

Lucy's Green Chili

    2 1/2 pounds pork, diced. Separate some of the fat and dice it even smaller.
    2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, diced
    1 13 ounce can green chiles, diced
    1 13 ounce can tomatoes
    onion powder
    garlic powder
    seasoned salt
    Accent (MSG)
    salt
    2 cups water
    1/2 cup flour
    oregano
    cumin
   

Fry the fat until it's crisp. (Or heat some oil in skillet.) Put in the pork and beef and simmer until they are cooked - probably 10 minutes depending on how high the heat is. Season with the onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, Accent, and salt to taste. Lucy didn't specify amounts here, so I just sprinkle them over the meat and it seems to wind up OK.

Add the can of chopped green chiles to the meat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Put the tomatoes in the blender, chop medium, and add to meat.

Put 2 cups of water in the blender and add a pinch of oregano and cumin. Add the flour and blend until smooth. Put the mixture in the chili and cook to thicken. Adjust spices to your taste.

Serve with French bread and olive oil. Sprinkle cheese, garlic, or Italian herbs on the bread if you wish. Say thanks to Lucy.

Copyright © CookingDude.com 2005-2008