New Mexican Pork Chile Verde

This recipe is one that my sister gave to me.  It is warm, hearty, filling and delicious!  My kids love it - even when I end up using hotter than usual green chiles and our tongues feel the burn ;)  We had it tonight for dinner, and ironically my sister called to visit right as I sat down to type this post (I am hearing the "Do do do do - do do do do" Twilight theme song in my head right now).  My sis lives in New Mexico and has much better access to fresh frozen green chiles than I do.  I have to use the ones from a can. If you ever spend any time in New Mexico when they are harvesting the Hatch chiles, you are treated to the experience of seeing them roast the chiles in giant roasters.  Cool to watch and it smells great too!

Green Chiles Roasting

New Mexican Pork Chile Verde
Click here for a printable version

Best made in a large Crock Pot

16 oz carnitas/pre-cooked, thawed, seasoned pork (see *NOTE below)
1  can chicken broth
1 pint mild chopped green chile (thawed) (or 1 can fire roasted green chiles)
4 oz hot chopped green chile (thawed) (or 1 can fire roasted green chiles)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ inch-or-less cubes (about 5 medium russett potatoes)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp red chile powder
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder

1. Put all stew ingredients in Crock Pot. Stir. Turn on High.  After stew has been actively simmering for an hour or so, pull the pork pieces into shreds using 2 forks.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and shredding pork pieces until potatoes are tender.  Total cooking time is usually 4 ½ - 6 hours.

2. Serve with warm flour tortillas and fresh chopped cilantro.

*NOTE - The stores I normally shop at don't usually carry pre-cooked carnitas.  When I don't have the precooked, I will make my own:

Slow Cooker Carnitas
From allrecipes.com

1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crumbled dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

1. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.

2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.