Chile Colorado

Hello my Hy-Vee friends!

It is getting hot, hot, hot in our produce department. We now have Guajillo, New Mexico, Pasilla, Hatch, ancho, chipotle and chile de arbol dried chiles. In addition, we also have pickled habaneros, a product I have been wanting for quite a while.

So what do you do with these chiles you ask? Anywhere you would use pickled jalapenos simply replace them with pickled habaneros! And they really are a delicious addition to any homemade tartar sauce.

As far as the dried chiles, the possibilities are endless. At its most basic you can use them to make homemade chili powder (guaranteed to be better than the stuff in a jar). Feeling ambitious? Make a mole which uses 4 kinds of dried chiles along with about 30 other ingredients. Told ya it was ambitious.

Or make one of my favorites which is Chile Colorado. This beautiful but simple dish consists of hunks of pork simmered in a sexy sauce made of New Mexico and pasilla chiles along with garlic and onion. 

Chile Colorado

Serves 6 to 8.

All you need:

3 to 4 pounds pork butt

8 dried New Mexico chiles

4 dried pasilla chiles

1 onion, roughly chopped

6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups Beef stock 

1 pound cubed potatoes (optional)

All you do:

1. Cut pork butt into small cubes, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Take the chiles and remove the stems, veins and seeds. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. When hot as the chiles and cook until the start to change color. Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl and set aside for ½ hour.

3. Once the chiles are done soaking, strain them and reserve the liquid. Place the chiles in food processor or blender along with the onion and garlic. Add about a cup of the soaking liquid and puree until smooth. Set the chile sauce aside.

4. Meanwhile a pot over medium high heat, When the pot in hot add the oil and when the oil heats up add half the meat. When meat browns, remove from pan and add the remaining meat and brown..

5. Add all the meat back to pot, along with the chile sauce, oregano, cumin, apple cider vinegar and the beef stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low and cook for about an hour and a half or until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick. Adjust with salt and pepper. If using potatoes add and simmer additional half hour.

6. Enjoy!

Stay spicy and Praise the Lard!

-Chef Alex