Happy Labor Day Weekend! I hope you enjoy your weekend and eat well!
Roasted Chile Verde Tacos
4-6 lbs. bone in pork shoulder (pork butt)
Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste
2 poblano Chile peppers seeded, cut in half and roasted
1or 2 jalapenos seeded, cut in half and roasted
1 lb. tomatillos husks removed, quartered and roasted
1 yellow onion quartered and roasted
4 cloves garlic whole or 4 teaspoons jarred
Chili powder. About a palm full
ground cumin. About a palm full
Dried oregano. About a palm full
Fresh cilantro chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Corn or flour tortillas
Toppings:
Red onion finely diced or sliced into half-moons
Cilantro
Sliced radishes (pickled or not)
Thinly sliced red or green cabbage
Queso fresco or cotija cheese, crumbled
Lime wedges, for squeezing
Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
On a baking sheet, rub your vegetables with vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast the vegetables in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.
Season the pork with the salt and pepper and then add to the hot oil. Sear on all sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
Place the browned pork into a slow cooker, with the poblano chiles, jalapeno, tomatillos, yellow onion, garlic, ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, cilantro, chicken broth/stock, and bay leaf.
Turn the heat to low and cook 6-7 hours, or until the pork is tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork. You can also cook in a pressure cooker, 60-90 minutes.
Remove the pork and shred using two forks or the bone of the pork butt (wait for it to cool a bit).
In the meantime, remove the bay leaf from the cooker and discard. Either using an immersion blender directly in the cooker bowl or by transferring the contents to a kitchen blender, puree the cooked peppers, onion, and chicken broth mixture until smooth. This is the Chile Verde sauce. If using a blender, let the sauce cool a bit and put a kitchen towel over the top of the blender and hold the lid on with your hand. Otherwise, it could explode on ya. If you Season to taste with salt as needed.
Heat and slightly char your tortillas over a gas flame or on your grill.
Top the tortillas with a mound of the shredded pork, followed by the pureed Chile Verde sauce. Also top with additional chopped cilantro, red onion, radish crumbled queso fresco. Feel free to squeeze some limes as well!