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A closer look – how to make the Simple Recipe better

 

Introduction:

The simple recipe works great for recreating the flavors we love . But like any recipe, you can explore and improve. Tiny incremental changes can make improvements too. I’ve been refining my Clam Chowder since 2010 and a better chowder is a rare find.

Each time I cook a familiar recipe I print out the ingredients and instructions. I mark my shopping needs and while cooking I keep notes of what I did differently, as well as any ideas for improvements.

After the dishes are done, I sit and combine my notes for next time. Some changes I keep, some I discard. I encourage you to do the similar.

The Simple Recipe page is all you need to create a copy of El Burro Chile Verde. This page exists to dig a little deeper into some options and improvements to the Simple Recipe.

First off, let me say that I hesitate to publish this Chile Verde recipe out of respect for Mario and family of El Burro. I hope they find affordable space to reopen. I doubt this article would affect foot traffic even from those who want it bad enough to find this site.

The Pork:

You should use pork shoulder. Some call it Boston butt, shoulder, etc. We will use the term shoulder, excluding whole shoulder which includes the picnic. Read on please.

You can use bone-in or boneless shoulder. You will probably be fine with a pork picnic too. You can also look for country ribs which are simply pork butts that are sliced into rib shape. I try to keep this recipe sized for two, but it’s easy to go over and the leftovers are great. But we need to consider how much pork to purchase. There are lots of options.

Country ribs:

Country ribs are pork sliced into rib shape strips. I have seen them cut from loin and from shoulder and from loin. If you go the country rib route, then make good and sure you getting shoulder country ribs, not the loin. Loin is far too lean and dry for this dish. The label will usually abbreviate Bstn Butt, Sholdr, or Loin, so look carefully. Country ribs from a shoulder should be well marbled, while loin will look more pink and lean.

The next thing to consider is weight. Country ribs usually are cut from bone in. So if you need 4lb of pork then consider a 6lb package of country ribs allowing for bone and trimming (more on trimming later). It’s better to buy more than you need, you’ll be surprised how much pork will fit into this dish. The dog would agree with me on this one too.

Bone-in or bone out shoulder:

If you go with a boneless you can simply trim, cube and you’re done. A 6-7lb bone-in butt is the most economical, and easily dealt with. You just rough cut the bone out leaving meat on the bone. Do not throw the bone away! Trim and cube the remaining butt, removing the excess fat as described in trimming below. When it comes time to add the pork to our chile verde, you will add that bone too. The meat will cook off and the bone will add flavor.

Picnic:

A pork picnic can be used too, although I have not tried it. Treat it the same as a bone-in butt by carving the meat off the shank and cubing. When it comes time to add the pork to our chile verde, you will add that bone too. The meat will cook off and the bone will add flavor. Shank bone is large so you will need one big enough to provide enough pork meat. Picnic’s also come with skin on, and that needs to be removed. For all of these reasons, I would recommend against using a picnic for your first cook.

Trimming:

The reason we use pork shoulder – it has plenty of fat in it’s internal muscle meat. That’s important for the pork to come out moist and tender. It’s also important because the fats that render off get emulsified into the sauce at the end of the cooking process and are a very important part of the taste and texture of the chile verde.

Given the above, remove excess fat. Sometimes at El Burro you’d get a big chunk of fat with your Chile Verde. It’s understandable because they make a lot! But we don’t want that. So remove excess fat. Don’t go crazy, just trim the excess fat that’s external and in veins.

The muscle bound fat marbling is what we want. It will provide enough fats for the sauce flavor. That fat gets suspended into the chile verde sauce when we thicken it at the end, so don’t be discouraged by pooling fats floating in your sauce while it’s cooking down.

Taquerias and Mexican markets:

We have an excellent fresh salsa to go with your Chile Verde. But you should always explore local taqueria and Mexican markets to see what they have to offer. Everything from daily fresh fried corn chips, and fresh flour tortillas, to delicious salsa. Give theirs a try, give our recipe a try and visit our Your Thoughts discussion page to lets us know your thoughts. There’s no signup, no email – none of that.

Excellent rice and frijoles can sometimes be found too. You can even buy a couple pounds of Carnitas and add that when the sauce is almost finished instead of your own pork cubes.

Which Enchilada sauce to use:

I have made this recipe using different enchilada sauces I find available in my area. Las Palmas is available everywhere in 19oz and 28oz sizes. It’s cheap so if you can only find 28oz you can use it all (needs more pork) or just discard the unneeded amount.

I have also found the Hatch brand in medium heat (15oz) locally, and it is my preferred base for this recipe. It costs more than the Las Palmas but it’s worth it. Hatch medium might be a little hot for very sensitive tastes, so maybe you can find the mild and control your heat level with Jalapeno.

You can also mix a can of Hatch with Las Palms. Either way, it’s not rocket science, just start with the Las Palmas and try others once you’ve got this recipe nailed down.

If you have any great discoveries we should watch out for or buy on-line please visit our Your Thoughts page. There’s no email or login account required.

Which verde salsa to use:

The Salsa Verde is where the bright citrus Tomatillo flavor comes in. A little goes a long way to reproduce El Burro Chile Verde which is why we only use 8oz.

Brand wise, I have only used La Preferida, and La Costena brands Salsa Verde. Try you local Mexican market but if you can’t find these then the other commonly available brands should be fine if tomatillo is high on the ingredient list.

Cooking:

This recipe is so simple and versatile, you can cook it in a crockpot while at work. Set the crockpot on low and include the pork instead of waiting 2 hours.

Lid on or off:

Crockpot or stove You can cook this recipe in a crockpot with the lid on for the duration, or in a pot on the stove with the lid on / off some of the time.

Lid on helps return to simmer after adding pork. Lid off helps reduce the sauce and intensifies the flavors. The corn starch will give the texture regardless of whether or not the sauce is reduced has been reduced.

The first few times I made this I used a crockpot. Keep in mind that crockpot heats from the sides, not the bottom. You need liquid in the crockpot for it to heat. So if you use a crockpot, (depending on the size) plan on scaling up the recipe a little.

I’ve been using a regular 10 quart pot on the stove. It gives me enough heat control to simmer lid on or lid off so I can reduce the sauce. But if you want it to cook while away at work – use a crockpot for sure! You won’t be sorry.

Flavoring:

Salt is very important for this recipe. Only use Kosher salt. Salt is what melds all the different flavors together into this delicious, flavorful sauce. Start with 1 teaspoon as the recipe calls for, and once the sauce has been simmering for a while, taste and add kosher salt (3 fingers) as needed. Continue doing this until the bright acidity of the tomatillo (from the 8oz green salsa) melds into the background and the flavor of the sauce becomes balanced.

Be very aware though. Do not start adding salt too soon. You will be reducing this sauce – removing water. This will condense the flavors and saltiness too. So wait until you’ve reduced the sauce to the El Burro texture before seriously applying the salt to flavor.

Always give salt time to dissolve and meld in, working it’s magic before adding more. Go easy, you got plenty of time. If you do add too much salt then hit back with some more sugar. Sugar works amazing wonders in a savory dish like this.

Final words:

Always taste and continue tasting is things progress. Don’t expect that delicious El Burro Chile Verde flavor to develop right away.

The reason for continued tasting is so you can get your heat level right. If you need to add heat, ladle some sauce and blend some more Jalapeno or Serrano and return to the pot. Give it time to meld in before tasting again.

Same for salt. This dish takes a good amount of salt. So when tasting for heat, also taste for salt. Add 3 fingers, stir and wait for it to dissolve and meld before tasting again.

Don’t get nervous:

It comes together at the end. Wait for it – it takes time to develop that familiar delicious El Burro Chile Verde flavor. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t taste like it right away or even hours into it. Understand this – the step with the corn starch at the end is very important. Not just for thickening but it’s an important for emulsifying the fats of the pork into the sauce. Get your salt level up to where it needs to be and you can’t miss.

I’ve made good batches, and I’ve made better batches. But not one single batch has failed to take me right back home to that dimly lit space with the wicker chairs we love s much. And remember “Be careful, the plate is hot”