Pork Chile Verde

Today is Cinco de Mayo, so I prepared my traditional pork chile verde. I think chile verde might be nature's most perfect food (with the possible exception of pork vindaloo, which was the dish I made with the other half of this pork loin). Both dishes are astonishingly easy to make in a slow cooker, and very yummy to eat when you get home.

Pork Chile Verde
2lbs Pork Loin (cubed)
1 bunch cilantro
2 onions
3-4 cloves garlic
5-6 tomatillos
5-6 green chiles
(any combination of Anaheim, Jalapeno, Poblano, Serrano)
1 cup chicken broth
12 oz. beer (Dos Equis Amber)

Chop the pork into one inch cubes then brown in a pan in batches. Meanwhile roast the tomatillos and "large" chiles (Poblano or Anaheim) in a cookie sheet on the top shelf of an oven preheated to 450 degrees. Remove the skin from the chiles then blast in a food processor or blender with some of the broth until slightly chunky. Seed and chop the smaller chiles (jalapeno or serrano) and add to the tomatillo mixture with some cilantro (if you like cilantro, and who doesn't?).

After the pork is finished browning, toss the onions and garlic in the pan and slowly brown. Add the onions and garlic to a crockpot with the meat and tomatillo mixture, add the beer and the rest of the broth and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with corn tortillas and garnish with sour cream, cheese, and lime. There's no need for salsa because the chile verde is spicy enough by itself. The sour cream and cheese helps to cut the heat.

Not surprisingly, chile verde goes really well with beer and I'm mixing it with Dos Equis Amber. You can usually tell which holiday is coming up by which brand of beer is on sale at BevMo. Tsingtao means Chinese New Year is coming up, Guinness means St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and Dos Equis and/or Corona means Cinco de Mayo is coming up.

I usually only buy Dos Equis Amber once a year (when it's on sale the week before Cinco de Mayo), but it's pretty good, both as a base for chile verde and to drink by itself.