Authentic Colorado Green Chili

By @chef30
A vibrant and warm chili with roasted peppers and tender pork, perfect for a chilly day.
Recipe Rating
Not yet rated by chefs
Ingredients
- ●1 poblano pepper
- ●1 jalapeño pepper
- ●½ yellow onion
- ●1 clove garlic
- ●½ pound pork shoulder
- ●1 cup chicken broth
- ●½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ●½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ●1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ●to taste salt
- ●to taste pepper
Instructions
- 1Place the poblano and jalapeño peppers under a broiler, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened and blistered. Remove from the broiler and place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let them steam for 10 minutes, then peel off the skins, remove the seeds, and chop the peppers.
- 2Heat the vegetable oil in a pot or saucepan over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Sear the pork cubes until browned on all sides. Remove the pork from the pot and set aside.
- 3Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- 4Add the roasted peppers, seared pork, chicken broth, cumin, and oregano to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for at least 1 hour, or until the pork is tender.
- 5If the chili is too thick, add a little more chicken broth. If it's too thin, simmer uncovered for a bit to reduce the liquid.
- 6Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
- 7Ladle the green chili into a bowl and garnish with your favorite toppings, such as shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Recipe details
- Category
- Main course
- Preparation
- 50 minutes
- Cooking
- 102 minutes
Estimated total: 162 minutes. Planning estimate: stated duration ranges use their midpoint; standard preparation, heating and handling allowances are included. Overlapping tasks are counted once. Resting/chilling is included in total time.
How these estimates were calculated
- Gather and measure ingredients: 5 min planning allowance (setup)
- Broil peppers: 8 min planning allowance (saute)
- Transfer peppers to bowl and cover: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Peel, deseed, and chop peppers: 10 min planning allowance (vegetable_prep)
- Preheat pot with oil: 3 min planning allowance (pan_preheat)
- Season pork: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Sear pork cubes: 8 min planning allowance (sear_batch)
- Remove pork from pot: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Chop onion and mince garlic: 10 min planning allowance (vegetable_prep)
- Cook garlic: 8 min planning allowance (saute)
- Add ingredients to pot: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Bring to a simmer: 10 min planning allowance (boil_heat)
- Adjust consistency (optional): 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Taste and adjust seasoning: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Ladle chili into bowl: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Garnish chili: 2 min planning allowance (garnish)
- Until skins are blackened and blistered
- Until browned on all sides
- Until softened
- Until fragrant
- Covered, until pork is tender
- Add broth or simmer uncovered
- poblano pepper: Melissa’s fresh poblano label: 1/4 medium pepper = 35 g. Standard 140 g medium edible portion with separate USDA generic raw green hot-chili nutrients; cultivar, trimming and roasting losses vary. No cooking-loss adjustment. (https://www.melissas.com/cdn/shop/files/2-pounds-image-of-pasilla-peppers-vegetables-34444750749740.jpg?v=1741981808)
- Melissa’s medium poblano 140 g portion with separately sourced USDA raw green hot-chili nutrients; trimming/roasting losses not estimated.
- jalapeño pepper: USDA pepper portion weight
- yellow onion: USDA medium (2-1/2" dia) portion weight
- Yellow onion approximated with generic raw onion, using a medium size.
- garlic: USDA clove portion weight
- Independently reviewed raw pork shoulder lean-and-fat reference. Instructions explicitly sear pork cubes, so the stated half pound is interpreted as edible cubed meat, not a bone-in joint. No bone-fre
- chicken broth: USDA cup portion weight
- ground cumin: USDA tsp, whole portion weight
- Ground cumin approximated with cumin seed, using tsp portion.
- dried oregano: USDA tsp, leaves portion weight
- vegetable oil: USDA tablespoon portion weight
- Unweighed salt: only documented zero nutrients included
- pepper: USDA tsp, ground portion weight
- pepper: Seasoning allowance: 1/4 tsp per 4 servings
- USDA black pepper; documented seasoning allowance applies only to to-taste/pinch amounts.
- poblano pepper: original amount “1”; interpreted as “1”. Melissa’s medium poblano 140 g portion with separately sourced USDA raw green hot-chili nutrients; trimming/roasting losses not estimated.
- poblano pepper: 140 g · USDA reference 170497 · Portion reference
- jalapeño pepper: 14 g · USDA reference 168576
- yellow onion: 55 g · USDA reference 170000
- garlic: 3 g · USDA reference 169230
- pork shoulder: 226.8 g · USDA reference 167843
- chicken broth: 249 g · USDA reference 174536
- ground cumin: 1.05 g · USDA reference 170923
- dried oregano: 0.5 g · USDA reference 171328
- vegetable oil: 13.6 g · USDA reference 172370
- salt: documented zero nutrients only · USDA reference 173468
- pepper: 0.57 g · USDA reference 170931
green chili · pork · poblano · jalapeño
Estimated nutrition per serving
764 calories · 44.6 g protein · 22.6 g carbohydrate · 55.6 g fat · 4 g fiber
Source and basis: USDA FoodData Central and reviewed product references; ingredient-based calculation per serving. Documented USDA or manufacturer portion weights; all listed ingredient mass included before cooking losses. Nutrients with incomplete inputs omitted. Full ingredient matches and assumptions below.
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Denver's signature dish is a slow-simmered green chili stew with tender pork, roasted Hatch chilis, and warming spices. Served over burritos or as a hearty bowl, it's Rocky Mountain comfort in every spoonful.
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