Chicago Bound & Pork Chili Verde Burrito Bowls

You probably saw on Facebook, that Brian and I are moving back to Chicago. Brian got a job offer from GrubHub, and we hopped on the opportunity to move back to our roots, the Midwest.  Yay for the hubby and yay for moving back to Chicago!

While we are super excited to be back near so many of our good friends, my sister, and close to Ohio, it's going to be pretty sad to leave California. I'm going to post a "memorial" to our past two and a half years here later this week. 

But, before we leave I'm doing the last of cooking in our tiny, inconvenient, dishwasher-less, garbage disposable-less kitchen. (hello San Francisco rent market!) For such a small kitchen, it's been great. A lot of good recipes have come from our San Francisco kitchen. Here's one more for the books.

I've made about every variation of this recipe. It's good every single time, and so hard to mess up. You could slow cook it in the crockpot, using practically the same method. And honestly, who doesn't love slow cooked pork (okay maybe if you don't eat pork make this with chicken instead)?

Pork Chili Verde (Pork in Tomatillo Sauce)
makes 6-8 servings

3-4 lb boneless pork shoulder/butt (tied with string)
10 tomatillos (husk removed, rinsed)
1 yellow onion (diced)
5 cloves garlic (diced)
1 poblano (stem & seeds removed, diced)
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
spices (garlic powder, cumin, green chili powder, coriander)
1 lime (juiced)
grapeseed oil
salt and pepper

Take the pork shoulder out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for a good hour. 

Pat the pork dry. Sprinkle all sides with a good amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil can get really hot without burning. Add the fattiest side of the pork down in the oil and let sizzle for 3-4 minutes. Repeat on all sides (there are 6 sides typically - top, bottom and then 4 sides). Remove from heat to a plate.

Lower heat to medium and add onion, garlic, poblano, salt and pepper. Let cook for 5 minutes. Chop tomatillos into quarters and toss into the pot. Add the can of green chilies, a few dashes of garlic powder, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper. Let cook for 5 more minutes.

Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. 

Using an immersion blender, blend the tomatillo mixture while still in the Dutch oven. Add additional chicken broth if it looks too low or very thick. Taste and add salt as necessary. Now, drop the pork back in and turn on low heat, so that the sauce barely simmer. 

Let the pork simmer on the stovetop for 3-4 hours, until the pork is falling apart. Mine took about 3.5 hours, and I had a 3 lb butt. 

Once falling apart, remove pork to a cutting board to shred, and remove any large, unpleasant hunks of fat. Also make sure to remove the string!

Once shredded, return to the pot and keep on very low heat until ready to serve. 

To make the bowls, assemble Cilantro Lime Rice (recipe below), shredded lettuce, chopped red onion, fresh cilantro and Greek yogurt/sour cream to make a delicious Verde Pork Burrito Bowl.

for the Cilantro Lime Rice
makes 4-5 servings

1 cup basmati rice
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 shallot (minced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 lime (juice + zest)
1 cup cilantro (chopped, no stems)
salt

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic and a dash of salt. Let cook for 3-5 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add rice to the pan and mix to coat in oil. Let the rice cook for 2-3 minutes.

Now add in the broth, lime juice and lime zest, and probably a pinch more salt. Bring to a boil, and lower to a simmer immediately. Cover and let cook 15-20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to see how the rice is. Add a tbsp of water if there isn't enough moisture. 

Once the rice finishes cooking, add the cilantro and taste. Adjust salt as necessary. The rice shouldn't be sticky!