Slow Cooker Recipe: Tomatillo Pork Braise With Pickled Chiles

I’ve become enamored with Mexican food — not the sad Tex Mex I find all over Dallas, but real Mexican food. Like the stuff Rick Bayless cooks. His style is authentic Mexican cuisine, incorporating all the tangy, spicy, meaty tastes that make it so damn good.

Tonight, I’m cooking one of my family’s favorites: Tomatillo Pork Braise with Pickled Chiles. For our non-meat-eaters, this dish has beans, and I’m pretty sure you could omit the meat and add more veggies, like carrots or potatoes, to make a delicious, vegetarian meal. Using the slow cooker makes this a weeknight-friendly recipe. Give it a try.

Tomatillo Pork Braise with Pickled Chiles

Adapted from “Mexican Everyday” by Rick Bayless

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 3 to 4 canned pickled jalapeños, stemmed, halved, and deseeded
• 1/2 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro
• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 15-ounce cans large white beans, drained

Recipe:

1. Spread the tomatillos in the bottom of a slow cooker. Scatter the garlic, jalapeños, and half of the cilantro on top. Sprinkle evenly with salt.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pork and Worcestershire sauce, mixing to coat the meat well. Distribute the meat over the tomatillo mixture.
3. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours.
4. Remove the pork from the crock pot with tongs.
5. Ladle the sauce left in the crock pot into a blender, and add the remaining cilantro. Cover loosely and blend until smooth. Return the mixture to the slow cooker. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce directly in the slow cooker.
6. Stir in the beans. Season to taste.
7. Return the meat to the slow cooker, warm it through, and serve.

This dish tastes great over rice or another whole grain. It’s delicious served in tortillas with some fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes, and Greek yogurt on top.

Image Credit: craigCloutier via flickr/CC