Scott’s Mario’s El Burro Chile Verde

‘Be careful, the plate is hot’

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Anyone who has lived in the San Jose area for any length of time knows of Mario’s El Burro, the Mexican restaurant located in The Pruneyard of Campbell Ca. The Chile Verde there is certifiably the best in the world and it remained exactly the same as it was when I started going there around 1979 or so.

Unfortunately, as we all know, the new owners of the Pruneyard (Ellis Partners) got greedy, and on May 16, 2018, El Burro closed it’s doors after 47 years of delicious service.

I’ve tried to recreate that El Burro Chile Verde a few times without success. But until the closure of El Burro, it wasn’t a high priority. But the challenge became more important after the closure and I focused more on how Mario might have been able to make this recipe in restaurant sized quantities with such consistency regardless of the time of year.

It became obvious that given the consistency of the dish, and the seasonality of the ingredients, it was unlikely that El Burro Chile Verde could be made entirely from fresh produce. It had to be coming from cans. Yes cans! Or at least some of it. It makes sense too – how else could Mario and family make a days worth of Chile Verde, every day of the year, using bushels of seasonal produce? Not possible!

So I spent hours researching all the Chile Verde recipes I could find. I looked for the correct color and texture that included canned ingredients. I took these recipes and tossed out the nonsense, kept the smart, and combined everything into something that made sense. My first attempt using this new approach was a game changer!

This recipe has been refined, simplified, and published below. The Advanced Recipe page includes essential notes, information and detail. You could jump right in with the recipe below or immerse yourself in Chile Verde goodness by looking at the Advanced Recipe.

This recipe really doesn’t bring the El Burro flavor until it’s done. So be patient, read the Advanced Recipe while you wait, but be patient.

Above all, please return and rate this recipe (no email or membership) and ask / answer questions in the Your Thoughts page.

Ingredients:

• 3+ lb pork (Boston Butt country ribs, not loin!). Trimmed & cubed
• 19 oz Can Las Palmas green enchilada sauce *
• 1/2 cup Salsa Verde *
• 1 4.5 oz Can chopped green chili’s *
• 1 Tsp Kosher salt *
• 1/2 tea white sugar *
• 3-4 Cloves garlic chopped *
• 1/2 Yellow onion chopped *
• 1-2 Jalapeno or Serrano veined & seeded chopped
• 3 Tbsp Corn starch
• 1/2 Lime juice (use the rest in salsa)
• 1 Handful fine chopped cilantro (used in salsa too)
• Tortillas

Instructions:

• • Add all except corn starch, pork, lime, jalapeno, and cilantro (see *) to pot or blender. Blend (or stick blend) smooth.
  • Turn stove on to simmer with lid on.
  • Leave to simmer. Meanwhile, cube pork into 1″ to 1.5″ pieces. Trim excessive fat.
  • After 2 hours on simmer, add pork to pot, bring back to simmer.
  • Also after 2 hours adjust heat by blending a ladle of sauce with some jalapeno and return to pot.
  • Continue low simmer for another 4 to 6 hours until pork mashes against pot wall.
    • Fats will raise – that’s good, just stir it in, it will disappear when we thicken.
    • Finish with salt after it’s reduced. Taste the sauce and add 3-finger pinch of kosher salt. Continue adding until it tastes like El Burro. Give it time to dissolve before adding more. Don’t do this before it reduces or it could be too salty once it does reduce.
    • Dish is ready when the a pork cube mashes easily against wall of pot.
  • When it’s ready, ladle a scoop of sauce and temper in corn starch. Return to pot to thicken for 30 min.
  • Meanwhile, mash a half dozen or so cubes of pork against wall of pot so the meat incorporates with the sauce.
  • Add lime and cilantro
  • Let it rest for 10-15 minutes and serve

Serve with Chips and Salsa