Green Chile Pork Stew

Muffin Goddess's Note:

This is one of those "stick-to-your-ribs" chilly-weather meals. I got this from a friend who is famous for her crockpot concoctions. Because of the nature of a crockpot, cooking time actually may range from 4 to 10 hours (depending on the cook's schedule).

• Total Time: 10 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 ½ lbs pork cutlets , cut into 1 inch cubes
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon seasoned pepper (I use Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Pepper)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons vinegar (white or cider)
• 2 large onions , coarsely chopped
• 2 cans whole baby potatoes (not sure of exact weight, I usually end up using one large can of them)
• 2 cups tomatillo salsa (I either make my own, or I use La Victoria Green Chile enchilada sauce)
• 2 (3 ½ ounce) cans diced green chilies
• 1 (15 ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar or 1 teaspoon honey

Directions:

1. Mix flour, cumin, pepper, salt, and sage in a gallon-size zipper bag.
2. Add meat cubes and shake to coat thoroughly.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet.
4. Brown pork in batches (meat will be crispier that way); remove from skillet when browned and place in the crock of a 4-6 quart slow cooker.
5. With the heat still on, add the vinegar to the skillet and quickly scrape up the browned bits left in the pan (the vinegar will reduce quite rapidly).
6. Add the vinegar reduction to the meat in the crock.
7. Add onions, potatoes, salsa, broth, and brown sugar to the crock and stir well.
8. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high for 4-5 hours, if you can't wait that long).
9. If you would like the stew to be a bit thicker, mash a few of the potatoes.
10. Serve with slabs of warm cornbread (such as my recipe for Mexican Cornbread).

Reviews

[bad kitty 1116]

Yum , this is a great recipe! I used pork stew meat and I followed all the directions. I did add some things. I added 4 cloves of minced garlic and a diced green pepper along with the onion and sauteed those for a few minutes before adding them to the crock pot. I used peeled red potatoes, quartered, instead of the canned and added 4 peeled and sliced carrots.I also added 1 teaspoon of oregano and a bay leaf. I did use the La Victoria enchilada sauce. At the end I did mash a few potatoes to make it thicker and I stirred in a can (15 ounces) of drained pinto beans and some fresh chopped cilantro. I topped each bowl with Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro, chopped green onions , and sour cream. Served with warmed flour tortillas. This was just what I was looking for and it was a very cozy meal on a cold night. Thank you so much for sharing this. Your friend has a wonderful crockpot concoction here!

[NavyWife'nMom]

I made only a half-batch, knowing my husband's hesitancy with green chile dishes, which are more to my liking. His comment was, "I didn't expect to like it...but this is quite good!" He even took the leftovers for lunch. I subbed red potatoes, quartered and used enchilada sauce and it was quite tasty. Cooked in a dutch oven for almost 4 hours at 250 degrees as Julie suggested. Pork was fall apart tender. Will probably go for a bit more spice in the future and will make a full batch from now on. Thanks!

[Julie B's Hive]

Yours is the recipe I chose to work with for ZWT3 The Kitchen Gadgets Mexcian Challenge. Since the olla is a casserole I had to play around with the preparation and not follow your instructions in the use of a crock pot. I followed steps 1-6 to panfry my meat but then transfered everything to my olla/casserole and baked it a low 250 degree oven for 4 hours. Perfection! But then, how could I miss? Since the potatoes are pre-cooked and all else comes from a can, how could I go wrong. I only made one mistake and that was not doubling the recipe! This is a favorite of mine not only because it is so easy to prepare but because it's taste is awesome. TFS, this is one I'll be doning over and over again, maybe your way, maybe mine, LOL