Salsa verde, green sauce.. whatever you prefer to call it, its a staple in every Mexican kitchen and you'll see it on every restaurant menu. It’s great for making enchiladas verde or for topping carne asada tacos. It's also great on eggs. It is a simple to make, and you can use it on just about anything. The taste of homemade salsa puts the store bought version to shame, so give this one a try. :)  

Chili Verde results in a dish of tender, juicy chunks of pork, slow simmered in a delicious Mexican-style Salsa Verde sauce wrapped in a warm tortilla (or over rice) with cheese, guac, shredded lettuce & cilantro. (all the heart eyes!)

If you follow me, you know we've obviously been on a braising kick recently.. but it's just soooo easy and so soo good. We meal prep every Sunday, (and Wednesday) if needed. I try to cook a week's worth of protein on Sunday and will cook some veggies or stir-fry some peppers on Wednesday to get us through the rest of week.

Braising has been an easy way to cook a large, inexpensive chunk of protein, and make a delicious meal to eat though the week. This recipe is similar to Chili Colorado in both cooking method, and the fact that its a traditional Mexican dish, but if I had to choose between red or green sauce.. green sauce wins 90% of the time.

You can also make this sauce ahead of time. Make it on the weekend for a weeknight dinner. Just make sure you freeze it if you aren't using it within 5-7 days to keep it fresh. This does call for serrano peppers - so we remove the pulp/seeds from half of them, and leave the others. We've made a couple variations of this and were surprised to find that reducing the onion in the sauce by half, actually reduced the 'pepper-heat' significantly. Aria still enjoys this with us, so it's pretty mild. Amp it up with more pepper & onion for extra kick.

Salsa Verde

makes 4-5 cups

• 12 Tomatillos, husks removed
• 2 yellow onions, cut into quarters
• 4 Serrano Peppers, cut in half, seeds removed (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic
• ½ cup cilantro
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1. Add the ingredients to a large pot and just cover with water, bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes. (The ingredients change color when cooked)

2. Carefully strain off most of the water, pour all the ingredients (except the salt) into a blender. Puree until smooth.

3. Then fry the salsa. (This is the most critical, magical part - Do not skip this step). Heat two tablespoons of oil in your pot.  Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.  Bring to low boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Toward the end of simmering, add salt to taste.

That’s it, you have the perfect salsa verde. Store in pint jars or pour into ice cube trays and freeze for easy portioning. Now onto cooking the pork..

Pork Chile

Serves 6-8

• 2-4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 4lbs  pork shoulder or pork butt
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 cups salsa verde
• water or chicken broth to almost cover the meat (approx 3-4 cups)

1. Trim off excess fat and cube the pork into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes.  Combine all of the dry seasonings into a bowl.

2. Preheat a large stock pot to high heat. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil, the minced garlic & onion 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.

3. Add 1/2 of the meat and 1/2 of the seasonings and sear on all sides. Transfer the seared pork to a large bowl and set aside.

Repeat with the rest of the meat, seasonings and oil.

*Note: Searing the pork in two batches allows for a good sear. Adding all of the meat at once will “steam” it.

When the second batch has seared, pour the first batch back into the pot, add 2 cups of salsa verde, then top with broth or water to cover the meat.

4.  Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.  Keep it covered and simmer for about 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. If you have time to let it simmer for a full two hours the pork will become so tender it will fall-apart when poked with a fork.



Serve over rice, cauli-rice, sweet potatoes, with or without tortillas, refried beans & cheese if you please.. Fresh cilantro, green onion, shredded lettuce, avocado, pico de gallo, & guacamole are amazing toppings.

Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear how it turns out, any modifications and feedback.. just scroll to the bottom to comment! Be sure to tag me on insta @mckenzie_wheeler