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livecontent,
First off thank you for the great post, very informative.
I have noticed people either love this style of it or hate it (some call it hot snot) but yes I am one that loves it I could eat it every day if only I could make it I am the same way as you said "differences between the word chile or chili—I know all that and I choose to use to use whatever suites me, at the moment."
I know green chile recipes are hard to write down on paper I asked Stella at chubbys once and she said she didn't have a recipe it was all in her head. So I get what your saying there.
As you said "If you are real cook or want to be, then learn to work with the ingredients." That also is a problem I have no training which I am sure if I did I could just taste the ingredients or see the texture and know what to do, I wish I could it would make things so much easier. I do have a good pallet I just have not tried all the ingredients enough to know when I taste something which is which.
As for the recipe I think I have tried everything you posted. I agree browning the pork is the way to go and adding the chiles to early is not good at all. For the recipe I am looking for I think I am over thinking it, it is probably a simple recipe but has just the right spices and roux.
Thank you again and I will take some ideas from you!
Green chile is truly a Colorado food; we argue about it, we each have our favorite way to prepare it, we have our favorite places to eat it when we go out.
It's not the same as it is in New Mexico, California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, or your grandmother's home (unless of course, your grandma's from Colorado).
It's what each of us makes of it, or, how we make it.
Have to disagree with you on this one, suz. Green chile is a dish native to New Mexico, not Colorado (other than for a few small areas of southern Colorado adjacent to NM). The brown gloppy pulverized gravy that people call "green chile" in this state is inferior to the real stuff they serve in our neighboring state to the south.
Davebarnes,
I have tried masa harina thinking that was the thickening secret so I made a roux with it and it just tasted funny to me is there a certain way you add it or cook it first? Also lard is better but hard to find good lard anymore the buckets seem to give a weird flavor unless again I am not cooking long enough or something
You can use corn meal to thicken stews but generally not Masa Harina, as it would give an off flavor. It is a different product which is corn meal cooked with lime, and dried and reground. It is used as a instant product to make doughs for Tortillas and other products. You cannot make a roux with this product or corn meal.
Adding Corn Meal is best done by mixing with cold water to break up the starch and adding to the dish.
Corn Meal cannot also added to hot water and by whisking rapidly when adding then cook till thickened. This would form a dough that can be used to make "johnny cakes", also called "journey cakes" which are fried in fat.This is a real American Food that made the "journeys" to the American West. It is also the technique used for Polenta and Grits.
I think you problem with lard is that you are a modern man and are not use to a strong lard flavor. In previous generations lard was more commonly used and the taste was part of the American Palate. I would suggest using part Lard and part vegetable oil/fat, so as to minimize the lard over taste. There are also many types of pork fats that are used in cooking with different techniques and different formulations of lard but that discussion is beyond this thread.
Livecontent gives as good a recipe and instruction for green chile that I've seen.
It's actually similar to what I've come up with but gave me a few ideas on how I'll do my next batch.
Like Joss mentions, I use the Mirasol as it's prevalent on the Mesa here in the Pueblo area and I like them. I especially like them when they are green and red. If I get that batch, I don't use tomatoes at all... unless I need it for color and can't get those Christmas red-green mirasols. I also don't use onion. But those chiles are so darned hot these days, I use some Anaheims to cool them down. If you have to, you can go to the frozen vegetable food section and sometimes find frozen roasted New Mexico Hatch mild which I think mixes well with the Pueblo mirasols. If you like it really hot, we've got the dynamites or you could go with some jalapeños or maybe a couple of habaneros... but careful.
I get the biggest pork roast I can find and cut that into quarters or eighths or whatever and put that in the oven to brown that and render that fat... I might put some garlic salt on that.
I then prepare the roasted (hopefully already roasted, as I buy them by the bushel and freeze them in bags just right for a batch of green chile) mirasols by cutting the stems off, pulling off most of the seeds and maybe some of the veins, and I chop them up. I've always started my stew pot off by putting the chiles in to the pot and adding chicken broth to it... but I will take Lives advice next time. I pull a chunk of that cooking pork out of the oven and slice it up into cubes and cook it again on the stove. I add some spices to it such as cumin, maybe chili powder also as Live says, I add some diced garlic... maybe also shaved... can't go wrong with garlic imo. Then after cutting off any fat, especially gristle and stuff, I throw that stuff into the stew pot and repeat the process with chiles, chicken stock, and pork.
When all that pork from the oven is taken out, twice-cooked and further rendered in spice and garlic, I shut that oven off and concentrate what's in the stew pot. I may add some salt or whatever spice to taste as needed at this point, trying to layer the flavors. I try hard to not get it too salty. I've been known to use lemon or lime zest to give it flavor without adding too much salt. I even do the pinch of sugar for balance. Oregano and chopped up cilantro near the end has never harmed it too much.
I may have this concoction on the stove for up to six hours while letting it simmer down, but will start "testing" it after a couple of hours.
I'm gonna have to try the vinegar too.
For me, it's all in the pork. I don't care how you tender it. If you don't render it, it will taste kind of bland imo.
Oh, and I'll do a roux like Live mentions... but I'd say it's more of a slurry. I'm not a professional cook. I just have to cook my own green if I want it to be the best, that's all. So what I do is at some point, I usually want to thicken it up a bit and maybe give it a nice color, so I'll take some flour and mix that into some heated up chicken broth. I mix that up really good so as to not get lumps... we're not making dumplings here. Then I bring that stew pot up to an almost boil and stir in the slurry or whatever you call it. Then I slow the heat back down.
Oh! Almost forgot. I take that pan from the oven, drain off the grease as best I can, and put some of that green chile liquid back into that pan and add some flour to that to get those scarboofnicks out of there and use that as a final slurry. If the chile is already too salty, I go easy on that.
We have a place here in Pueblo that has the best homeade tortillas that are made daily. It's in that Sante Fe Plaza just north of the Do Drop, north of Mesa and Northern, but south of the Santa Fe that takes you out to the Mesa... if that makes any sense. It's called Tortillas Delicious or something like that.
That's how I do it and I think it's pretty good. My wife's is almost as good, but she can have it done inside an hour. Different strokes I guess.
I'll give you all a secret tip - most don't know this but if you skip browning the pork and simmer in broth and spices, you'll get a MUCH more tender pork...[/list]
I think this is good idea to simmer the pork in a seasoned broth. It does make a softer, tender and flavored product. Though, I still prefer the idea of browning the pork.
I once had to make about 60 gallons of "Colorado Green Chili" for a large outdoor buffet, when I first came to Colorado. In that quantity you have to use different techniques. I browned the pork in a convections oven. I then dumped (real appetizing word) the pork into a steam kettle and simmered in a seasoned broth to tenderize. Sauteed my onions/garlic/and some spices in a separate smaller tilt grill and when added to the simmering broth. Added all the other ingredients and tomatoes. Thickened with prepared roux, which is made in large batches in commercial kitchen.
It was a big success as I got all these rave reviews from these Colorado Businessman saying it was the "best green chili they ever ate" They were impressed that I was from New York. Yea, I could have fed them cardboard and they would have been pleased, as they were well marinated with alcohol. That is the secret of a Great Chef, give them plenty of booze and pretty waitresses--and stand back and take the applause.
Roast Pork, the "other," white meat. That's one item on my Christmas table. Yum, yum...also makes the BEST gravy.....and then.. green chile, how can we lose??
Mike,
From my trials I have noticed Anaheims are the most chosen chiles but there are many types Big Jim's seem to be very popular. The can chiles are not as good as getting fresh roasted chiles also I see alot of company's like Santiago's use jalapeños for there heat source which I thought it was the other way around. I can't seem to find jalapeños that hot but maybe roasting them first would help but may change the flavor.
Jalapenos (and all chiles in general) will have various heat levels based partly on growing conditions. Generally speaking, the more water they have available when growing the milder they will be.
I used to grow my own and would let the plants stress and start to wilt once there were a fair number of fruit on the plants. This helped make them hotter; usually eclipsing the heat level of most serranos.
I am partial to the jalapeno flavor, and rarely grow my own any more so I use a mix of serranos and jalapenos (as well as the hot variety of Hatch chiles). Of course, most of the people in my house faint at the sight of a Tabasco bottle, so I rarely get to make it as hot as I would like...
What's the difference between Colorado style green chile and New Mexico style green chile?
The recipes look pretty much like New Mexico style Green Chile.
New Mexico is the king of green chile, so I'm wondering why you refer to it as Colorado style rather than New Mexico style...
What's the difference between Colorado style green chile and New Mexico style green chile?
The recipes look pretty much like New Mexico style Green Chile.
New Mexico is the king of green chile, so I'm wondering why you refer to it as Colorado style rather than New Mexico style...
In my experience, New Mexico green chili is a little more simple. There tends to be less pork, few spices and is more about the green chiles that make it up. Colorado/Denver seems to add more "stuff" and it is a little heartier.
What's the difference between Colorado style green chile and New Mexico style green chile?
So... you're asking a question here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmoky
The recipes look pretty much like New Mexico style Green Chile.
Oh... but now it looks like you have come to a conclusion here... are weighing in with an opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmoky
New Mexico is the king of green chile, so I'm wondering why you refer to it as Colorado style rather than New Mexico style...
Oh. So you came in here to TELL us something. I get it.
I don't agree with you by the way.
New Mexico is the king of New Mexico food.
We in Colorado have a totally different green chile. I guess instead of trying to convince you of something, I'll offer you this idea; come to Southern Colorado and taste this stuff for yourself and compare this stuff to that New Mexico stuff and go from there.
But since, in my opinion, you're comparing apples to oranges, there's no crowning to do. New Mexico can be the King of that, but imo, Colorado will be the King of this... two totally different dishes.
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I am the same way as you said "differences between the word chile or chili—I know all that and I choose to use to use whatever suites me, at the moment."
