Every year from August until Nov. 1, the green chile stands make their way to Denver, and I have to make at least one batch of Colorado-style pork green chili, which is more of a gravy-like stew compared to the more soupy New Mexico-style green chili. This year, I plan on making two batches. Although this recipe makes a huge pot of green chile that I freeze, I eventually run out during the year, which makes me sad. And I don't want to be sad. I figure it's time to be proactive and make sure I'm fully stocked until next year's crop.
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Why You Need to Make This Recipe
I love eating this green chili as a stew with plenty of delicious toppings as pictured, but we Coloradans are also known to smother our green chili on almost everything.
Burritos? Obviously. Enchiladas? Most definitely. Burgers? Absolutely. Battered curly fries? For sure. A big plate of cheesy eggs? Without a doubt. Nachos? Yes, please. Really, we'll smother this green chili on anything, so you can see why I need a larger supply.
If you've never visited a green chile stand, it's awesome. You choose the heat level you'd like for your chile, and then they throw your chiles into a giant cylindrical gas roaster with fresh garlic and quickly turn it until the chile skins are black.
And the smell? Intoxicating. I keep my nose in the air and happily take it all in while they roast. Honestly, I look a lot like Baylor when she catches a whiff outside.
But no worries if your area doesn't have green chile stands. You can buy frozen, canned or jarred roasted green chiles and use those in this recipe.
Bonus: If you love this stew, you'll also love my green chile-artichoke dip!
Step-by-Step Instructions
And now to jump into the recipe. To make this pork green chili stew, you don't need a long list of ingredients. The green chiles are so flavorful, especially with the pork shoulder, that it's unnecessary to load it with a bunch of different spices. Outside of the pork shoulder and green chiles, there's a good chance you have most of the ingredients in your pantry.
As I mentioned, you need to peel, deseed and dice your green chiles, though you get to skip this step if you use frozen green chiles. The ones I've always seen already come prepped and ready to go.
After you dice your chiles, coat the pork shoulder with plenty of salt and pepper and sear it on all sides to give it a brown crust in a large stockpot. This step adds a nice caramelization to the pork and depth of flavor. Once you develop that lovely crust, remove the pork and cook the onion and garlic in that delicious rendered pork fat.
Now you're ready to return the pork to the stockpot and add the green chiles, cumin, smoked paprika, pepper, chicken broth and diced potatoes. Bring the chile to a low boil, pop on the top and turn to low to simmer. Pour yourself a drink, give the pork green chili stew a stir every so often to prevent burning and cook until the pork is fork tender and shreddable. This typically takes about two to three hours.
When the pork is ready, remove it from the stockpot, shred with a couple forks and remove any bones once it's cool enough to handle. To get that signature Colorado-style thickness, we now make a roux and add it to the stockpot with the pork and cook for about five or 10 more minutes. For the roux, masa will give you the best flavor, but I've also used flour with good results.
And that's it. If you need more heat, you can always add some diced fresh jalapenos with seeds or cayenne pepper to taste, but I generally don't find it necessary. Another option is to serve jalapenos on the side in case people would like to individually add more heat to their taste. You can either serve the chile immediately or refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld.
Like I said, you can smother it on so many different dishes or serve as a stew with a variety of toppings. My favorite toppings are shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, red onion, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro and fresh lime. I also love dipping warm tortillas into this giant bowl of goodness. Now dig in and feel happy that all that me time led to this delicious dish.
Perfect Pairing
With beer, you have a few great pairing options. Pale ale and pilsner are delicious, but I especially love a good doppelbock with this green chili. Doppelbock's caramel-like notes pair nicely with the pork's browned crust, and the sweet malt contrasts from the heat from the chile, particularly if you go for a hot variety.
For those times wine calls, tempranillo will take care of you. Like a doppelbock's malt, the red fruit in tempranillo balances the spice, and tempranillo isn't overly tannic, so you don't have to worry about the two clashing. Tempranillo also has higher acidity levels than other reds, which works well with the spicy green chile.
With the fall here, I hope you take some time for yourself to make this Colorado pork green chili. Every year I look forward to making a batch, and I'm sure it'll be a new favorite for you as well. If you have a chance to try it, please let me know what you think and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter.
Cheers!
Need More Game-Day Recipes?
- Soft beer pretzels with Oktoberfest cheese dip
- Ahi nachos with wasabi crema
- Classic margarita
- Creamy white chicken chili
- Instant Pot chicken enchilada soup
Colorado-Style Pork Green Chili
Equipment
- Large stockpot or Dutch oven
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- ½ bushel of roasted fresh green chiles approximately 7 ½ cups chopped chiles, mild, medium or hot, depending on your preference
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 pounds pork shoulder roast
- Salt and pepper
- 4 garlic cloves grated or minced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 1 russet potato diced
- 1 cup masa or flour preferably masa but flour works well
- 1 cup butter
- Cayenne pepper optional, to taste
- Fresh jalapeno optional, diced, with seeds, to taste
- 1 lime juiced
Instructions
- If using freshly roasted green chile, remove the skin, deseed and dice. For frozen green chiles, thaw and dice if they don't come chopped, though most frozen green chiles tend to come diced. You can also used canned green chiles, though fresh or frozen is my preference.
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Liberally salt and pepper the pork shoulder roast. Once the oil is hot, cook the pork on all sides until it develops a nice crust. This should take about four to five minutes on each side. Remove the pork, add the onion and turn heat down to medium. Cook for about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Put the pork back in the stockpot and add the chiles, cumin, spiced paprika, pepper, chicken broth and potato to pot. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the pork is fork tender, about two to three hours.
- When the pork is tender, remove the roast from the stockpot and shred with two forks once it's cool enough to handle. Discard any bones.
- In a separate skillet, melt the butter to make a roux. Continuously whisk in the masa or flour for about four to six minutes. Return the shredded pork to the stockpot and stir in the roux. Cook for another five to 10 minutes until the green chile thickens to your liking.
- Taste the green chile and if you'd like to add more heat, stir in cayenne pepper or sauteed diced fresh jalapenos with the seeds. This step is optional. You can also add more salt to taste if desired. Turn off heat and stir in lime juice.
- You can serve immediately or refrigerate it overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Smother or eat as a stew. Garnish with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to use your favorite garnishes. I especially love cheese, sour cream, guacamole, chopped red onion, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro and lime juice. Fresh jalapenos are also great if you'd like to let people add more heat to their liking.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Greg Dille says
I have a love hate (more a love "like") relationship with Green Chili. I love it when it's good, and like it when it's not that great. I've only had great green chili in restaurants a few times. I've been on a decades long search for a great green chili recipe I could make at home. I finally found it in this recipe! Thank you Amanda. My search is over. I'll make this over and over again.
I did make some alterations, some by choice, some by chance.
1. The Pork Butt I had in the freezer was 8 lbs. so twice what was called for. But (no pun intended), the 8 lb pork butt yielded exactly 4 lbs. of shredded pork in the end and turned out to be perfect (for me).
2. I used 1/2 the butter and masa for the roux, then sprinkled only masa into the chili from there to thicken. I probably will just use the masa next time and skip the butter, or use less than 1/2 a cup.
3. I used up all of my frozen hatch green chili's (mild, med, hot) that yielded only 2 of the 7 cups of green chili's needed. I used 505's brand of flamed hatch green chili's for the other 5 cups (from Costco).
4. I went half on the Cumin, mostly cuz my wife's not a big fan of cumin if it's flavor stands out.
5. I ended up simmering the 8 lb. pork butt for about 7 hours, monitoring it with an instant read digital thermometer until the center of the meat approached the 197-202 degrees to allow the connective tissue to fully break down.
I look forward to making this recipe in August when the 2022 batch of hatch green chili's arrive in the grocery store. I haven't found a green chili stand here in Phoenix like Amanda was describing, but I'm gonna look for one this year.
Lastly, I think I'll try smoking the Pork Butt for the first 3 hours and then putting it in the green chili soup to finish out.
Got carried away with this review, but that's just cuz I'm so thrilled to have finally found the gold at the end of the rainbow. Thanks again Amanda for a fantastic recipe.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Oh, my goodness, thank you so much for sharing that review! And I’m so glad you were able to make the adjustments you needed.
Greg Dille says
You're welcome Amanda. I posted pictures on my facebook page of the finished product and was celebrating finding the best green chili recipe I've tried and people were asking to share it, so I put a link to your website on my facebook page. I look forward to checking out some of your other recipes. Blessings! Greg
Pam says
I am from southwest Colorado. We add a pound of diced tomatillos to our pork green chili. They act as a thickening agent and add a nice flavor to the stew.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Sounds like a nice addition!
Kari says
I left Denver and moved to Minneapolis a few years ago. No pork green chili here, just vast of amounts of mayo. On everything. Felt a little homesick, and found your site and this recipe. Ummmm... drooling! I can only
get canned chilies.
Any brand you can recommend? Thanks!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I have heard they love their mayo in the Midwest! I've used the Hatch brand in other recipes, and it's come out good, though I find the mild is very mild -- good flavor but definitely not much heat. If you're looking for a medium green chili, it might be worth mixing the mild with hot. I hope you're otherwise loving life in Minneapolis!
Becky says
I made this recipe in the slow cooker, and I added Rotel diced tomatoes! Yummy!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
That sounds like a wonderful addition! I love Rotel. So glad you loved it!
Monica says
Could you estimate the number of pounds of frozen, roasted chilis this would take? Thanks!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Sure! I just grabbed a jar and did some calculations, and 3-4 pounds should work.
Monica says
Wow, thanks for the quick reply! I can't wait to make this, it's one of my favorite dishes. I'm going to make it low carb (keto) by substituting a turnip for the potato and using a small amount of xanthan gum and broth instead of the roux as a thickener. Easy!
Mat G. says
Decided to make this recipe of green chili for my family. I have to say...it was a big hit. We are CO natives so we have high expectations, I now have a new green chili recipe for the holidays! Thank you for sharing it Amanda!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Hi, Mat -- thank you so much! Your comment totally made my day, and I'm so happy to hear it was a hit!
Mandy says
What is the best method for freezing/reheating? How long will this last in the freezer? We moved from Denver to Chicago and miss Colorado green chili so much!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Hi, Mandy! I like to pour anything leftovers in a plastic food storage container, let it cool completely and and keep it in the freezer. Generally, I try to use it up within six months. Hope you enjoy!
Kira says
Could you make this in a slow cooker?
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Hi, Kira! Yes, I have made this in a slow cooker. I still sear the pork and then cook on low for eight hours, shred the pork and add it back to the slow cooker. Then, I'll make the roux on the stove, turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the roux. Hope you love it -- and thanks for the reminder that I need to update this with slow cooker instructions!
Biana says
What a perfect fall dish! This chile looks delicious, especially with all the toppings.
Shashi says
I can imagine how amazing those roasting chilies must smell! And speaking of amazing - wow - this stew has me drooling. So love all the flavors in this one. Simply delicious.
Kristen Wood says
This was perfect for a family gathering! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
Sharon says
When you want a stick-to-your-ribs dish that's perfect for the colder months, make this dish! It is so delicious.
Heather Perine says
OMG this sounds so tasty! And yup I'm putting on ALL the garnishes 🙂
Mindee Taylor says
This was so delicious! Will definitely heat you up on a chilly night!
Beth says
Yummy! This is such a delicious stew and we loved all the flavors in this recipe! Such a great recipe for cooler months and one of our new favorite comfort foods!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Thank you so much, Beth! I always get excited when it's time to make this!
Keri Bevan says
Perfect game day recipe. We love it!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Same! It's perfect for a crowd.