An easy recipe for Pork Salsa Verde (Green Chile Pork), made in the slow-cooker.

Pork salsa verde is an incredibly easy meal for busy weekdays. The meal belongs to the Saucy Two-Step category of the F-OF playbook because the salsa verde used in the dish (recipe here) is whipped up on the weekend to be snacked on and used in meals during the busy workweek. You can find links to the Salsa Verde Meal Plan, complete with shopping list and recipes, below.

Preparing the pork

I like to cube the pork, season well, and sear it on all sides—I usually do this the night before. If you're pressed for time, you can trim the fat off the whole roast, season well with salt, pepper, and cumin, and make slits in the meat for inserting slivers of garlic. Then simply pop the roast into the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients and leave to braise for 8 hours. When you get home, remove the meat, shred it, return it to the juices in the pot, and go from there.

Pork salsa verde: over rice, in tacos, or in Green Chili Stew?

Pork salsa verde is fantastic over rice or served buffet-style for a DIY taco bar. It's also great in New Mexican-style Green Chili stew: in this case, you add in par-cooked vegetables, additional roasted green chiles, and a can of posole corn (also called white hominy). The stew is traditionally served with shredded lettuce, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced radishes, sour cream (or Mexican crema), and crumbled (or shredded) cheese, with warmed tortillas on the side.

Leftover pork is absolutely fantastic in Pork Enchiladas Suizas (link below). If you've made stew with the pork, you can pull any remaining pork out of the broth to use for enchiladas. I have also frozen the leftovers for an easy meal whenever I want. If you're looking for more dishes inspired by Latin American cuisine, check out my Mexican-Inspired Recipes for Cinco de Mayo!

Recipe

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Pork Salsa Verde

Yield: 8 -10

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes

This is the perfect slow-cooker recipe for a busy weeknight. The pork is incredibly tender and flavorful. You can opt to make this into a stew, in which case you'd use more broth/water and add par-cooked potatoes and posole corn during the final 15-20 minutes of cook time. You could also save time by steaming or otherwise par-cooking the potatoes in advance. I'd recommend a 15-minute simmer after you add the potatoes and posole to allow the flavors to meld.

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Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork butt roast, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized cubes
• 2 tbsp. rich lard, (or use butter or canola oil)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups salsa verde, divided (see Recipe Note #1)
• 4 cups beef broth, (or use water or a mix)
• 2 bay leaves

FOR THE GREEN CHILE STEW VARIATION

• 1 28- oz. can posole corn, (a.k.a., white hominy, drained)
• 2 cups baby potatoes, quartered
• 1 tbsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp. Mexican oregano
• 2 tsp. cumin, (optional)
• 2 4 oz. cans mild roasted green chiles (not jalapeños), drained & chopped
• S & P to taste

GARNISHES

• shredded lettuce
• thin-sliced radishes
• sliced avocados
• shredded or crumbled cheese
• warmed tortillas

Instructions

1. The night before you plan to eat your pork, season the meat well on all sides with salt and pepper. Melt your lard in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Working in small batches, sear your meat on all sides. Remove meat and set aside. Meanwhile, if you're making green chili stew, steam your vegetables until easily pierced with a paring knife. Cool and refrigerate overnight.
2. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes, adding more lard or oil if necessary. Add the garlic and bay leaves; saute for an additional minute. Deglaze the pan with half of the broth or water, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the meat back along with any accumulated juices. Add in 1 cup of salsa verde; mix well. Cool and refrigerate overnight.
3. The next morning, add the meat mixture to your crockpot, along with the remaining broth, dried herbs, and cumin (if using). Set the crockpot on low and allow to cook for 6-7 hours (a longer time period is fine).
4. For green chile stew, remove 2 cups of the pork to use in enchiladas suizas; refrigerate. Add your par-cooked potatoes, roasted chiles, and posole corn at hour 7 and turn crockpot to high. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Check seasoning, adjusting as necessary. Stir in ½ cup more of the salsa verde; serve with cilantro and remaining salsa verde on the side.
5. For salsa verde pork over rice or in tacos: Taste for seasoning, adjusting if necessary. I serve the pork over rice with shredded cheese, cilantro, and tortillas on the side—this is fun for kids because they can make tacos. Avocados are a wonderful accompaniment.

Notes

1. Use my Salsa Verde recipe or your favorite jarred salsa verde.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Making green salsa: washing the peppers, giving them a char in the grill pan, and prepping them for the food processor. (My cookie baking operation is photo bombing in the lower right.)

Related

The Salsa Verde Meal Plan

Make your own fresh, fantastic salsa verde to use in Pork Salsa Verde, Enchiladas Suizas, and Huevos Rancheros. Or just nosh it with tortilla chips.

Enchiladas Suizas

It's almost unreal that you can make a meal THIS good on a busy weeknight. But you made the sauce on Day 1, the filling on Day 2, and now all you have left to do is crisp the tortillas, roll your enchiladas, and bake! "But that TAKES too long!", you say. Then opt for the chilaquiles version of this recipe! Instead of tortillas, you can save yourself time by using tortilla CHIPS! This version eliminates the need to roll individual enchiladas.