Denver Green Chili is a regional specialty found along the Colorado Front Range, and this is my family recipe. Rich and silky, just thick enough to smother a burrito and gently pool, it has the right amount of heat. Enough to catch your interest, but not enough to cause any true distress.
Denver Green Chili
The marvelous flavor will tickle your tongue, wrap around, and settle toward the back of the throat. If I were dying, this would be my last request. And it might revive me, it’s that good. Then I’d request it next time! Don’t wait that long; you need this now.
About Denver Green Chili:
For anyone unfamiliar, a note about my spelling: Green Chili with an “i” is a finished dish; spelled with an “e” it’s the vegetable.
Denver and/or Colorado Green Chili is different from Green Chili found in other regions. There’s almost always pork, green chiles, maybe a few spices, and sometimes hotter peppers. It often has tomatoes, but tradition dictates no tomatillos, potatoes, or any “cheffy” ingredients.
I’ve been making this Denver Green Chili for 40-plus years. Sadly, when I moved away, I couldn’t find this style of green chili in the Twin Cities. Heck, I couldn’t even find green chiles. That didn’t stop me!
Colorado Pork Green Chili
Traditional Styles of Colorado Green Chili:
We covered the basics of Denver/Colorado Green Chili, but let:
- The Denver Green Chili featured here was modeled after a favorite restaurant; it’s a little more stew-like with braised pork (and no tomatoes)
- There’s no doubt that the most popular is made with cubes of pork and tomatoes. You’ll find that under Colorado Pork Green Chili. It’s pictured right above.
- Green Chili can be made with chicken or turkey (someday I’ll post mine.) You’ll find some ground pork and vegetarian versions. So far, I’ve never made either.
Using larger cuts of pork give better stock & flavor and gives you extra pork for all kinds of dishes!
The Pork:
Before everything became so “cheffed up” (Tomatillos? Really? That’s a New Mexico thing), Colorado green chili had always been simple, down-home cooking. It traditionally starts with pork, but it’s more about the flavor, with just a little pork in the dish.
Here it starts with bone-in pork shoulder. The cut adds tremendous flavor to the green chili and the bonus: extra of that flavorful pork (you won’t need it all in the Green Chili) for stuffing in burritos, enchiladas, or flautas, topping tostadas, making tacos, or in almost anything Mexican or Southwestern. You get the idea!
An alternative to the shoulder: If you trim spareribs into St. Louis style as I do, there’s a potential for waste. I toss the trimmings in the freezer, and when enough accumulates, I make a recipe like this one. They make a particularly flavorful GC.
Trimming a Rack of Ribs; these trimmings and the very small ribs from the end went in my Fiejoada
Making Denver Green Chili:
This is a two-step process. The pork is cooked until tender with onion, garlic, and spices, infusing both the stock and pork with flavor. Then the pork is diced, and the stock defatted. Save that fat, though! A roux is made, the stock is added, and then the finishing touches complete the GC.
The tricky part is adding the stock to the mix of fat and flour (the roux). This is a heavy, thick roux with a lot of flour, and the liquid has to be added bit by bit as it’s stirred in; that roux thickens immediately after each addition. Keep working it, stirring like mad (don’t stop) as the stock is added. Eventually, the mixture will loosen up, and the remainder of the stock can be easily added in at once.
It is very helpful to have the stock right next to the pot the roux is in. I suggest a two-cup Pyrex measuring cup be used to add the stock; after each addition, it only takes one hand to quickly dip the cup into the stock and pour it into your roux, and the amount is perfect for each addition.
If, for any reason, flavor seems lacking (it shouldn’t), add a little bullion powder – restaurants do, even if Mom or Grandma will never admit to doing so!
You’ll Also Find this Recipe on The Ranting Chef:
When I first posted my Denver Green Chili, I did so on the Ranting Chef. He had a contest. I didn’t win, even though my recipe had won several contests in Denver and one in Minnesota. I wasn’t too bummed coz I love his site. Do visit. 🙂
How to Use Denver Green Chili:
- Bowl of Green: Serve in a wide, shallow bowl with refried beans if desired, garnished with sour cream and cheese. Utensils optional; old-timers scoop it up with a bit of tortilla.
- Mexican Hamburger: Back in the day, always thin, griddled, & well done with a crust. Tuck into a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, fold over, and smother with GC and more cheese.
- Smothered Burrito: The Green Chili should be the star, so fill with something that doesn’t compete. Try Restaurant Style Mexican Ground Beef or Canned Refried Beans Restaurant Style.
- Green Chili Queso Dip: Heat Green Chili and add finely grated cheese, bit by bit to taste. Maybe about 2/3 GC and 1/3 cheese. Try Monterrey Jack. Serve with tortillas or chips!
- Breakfast Burritos: My fave! Make a dozen or a bunch to freeze. See the step-by-step post: Green Chili Breakfast Burritos.
Restaurant Style Mexican Ground Beef in Burritos with Denver Green Chili
Saving Money on Denver Green Chili:
Green Chiles are harder to find and pricier outside the Southwest. Years ago, my good friend (thank you, Margaret!) brought me a bucketful from Colorado when she visited! If that’s not an option, read on!
- If you’re in an area where vendors roast green chiles, or an area they travel to, which might be a little pricier, that’s an excellent option.
- If price isn’t an issue, order online. The chiles come drop-shipped, frozen
- Depending on the locale, check the produce department; they’ll be less expensive in season. You’ll need to prepare your own.
- Prepared green chili can be bought in jugs; groceries might only carry them until they run out; sometimes, they’ll be in the clearance area. There are several brands online.
- Canned are available all year; it can be hard to find sizes over 4 ounces. Best prices are Cinco de Mayo sales or in the fall when warehouses are full, and product needs to be moved quickly.
Pork shoulder is one of the cheapest proteins you’ll find. Grab a few when they’re at their lowest in the fall or when you see them at rock bottom and freeze.
Storing & Freezing Denver Green Chili:
The Denver Green Chili recipe makes a big pot; it will keep in the fridge for four to five days. If frozen, it thins when thawed. Thickening is not an exact science and depends on how much you’re working with.
- Heat the GC to a simmer. In a small pan, heat preferred fat, maybe two to three tablespoons to a quart of the green chili, add an equal amount of flour, and stir until thickened.
- Ladle a cup GC into the roux, stirring constantly, then add a few tablespoons of that flour mixture to the simmering green chili. In a minute or two, it will start to thicken. If it’s not thick enough, add a little more flour mixture, repeating as necessary.
Denver Green Chili
My Denver Green Chili
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 10 - 12 servings, about 3 quarts 1x
- Category: Soups
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Meat and Stock:
- 2 pounds pork shoulder
- 2 quarts (8 cups) water
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 – 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons chile pequin or red pepper flakes
Green Chili (Chile Verde):
- four tablespoons bacon drippings (may be combined with the fat from the stock to total four tablespoons) and a good lard may be used
- 1 onion, small dice
- 3/4 cup flour
- 7 – 8 cans green chile (7 ounces each) drained but not rinsed or 3 cups fresh, roasted, cleaned & diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chile rojo (chili powder will work in a pinch)
- a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon or to taste, of chicken bullion base or a combination of chicken and beef *
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, perhaps more to taste
Instructions
Place roast in a large stockpot, cover with 2 quarts of water, add onion, garlic, the two teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and chile pequin or red pepper flakes. Simmer gently until pork is tender but still holding together, about two and a half to three hours, depending on the size of the meat used. Strain stock, reserve, and set aside meat until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. May be refrigerated at this point, if desired, which makes it very easy to remove the fat from the stock.
When ready to proceed, heat bacon drippings (or a combination of the fat from the stock & bacon drippings) in a large stockpot. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add flour, stirring until flour cooks for a moment to two and is coated with oil. Turn burner down a bit and add about two cups of the stock, whisking vigorously, until a paste is formed. Continue to add stock in additions, whisking, until all the stock is incorporated into the mixture. Turn heat back up and bring to a simmer.
Note: this is a quite a bit of flour to add to the small amount of fat, and a little care is needed to smoothly incorporate the stock into the flour. It is helpful to have a two-cup measuring cup on hand to quickly dip out the stock and add to the roux mixture. After two or three additions, the roux is generally thinned out enough to add the remainder of the stock at once.
Add in green chile and as much of the reserved pork as you’d like. Some may be saved for another use. Add seasonings to taste, depending on the heat level you desire. Add bullion to taste. A restaurant version of this type of green chili is generally very highly seasoned and nearly always contains some bullion, while home versions may or may not. Taste for salt after the bullion is added. Your palate is the best indication of how much or how little spice and seasoning is desired.
Simmer very gently for at least 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until the green chile is tender. If the Green Chili seems to be a bit thick and is sticking to the bottom of the pan as it simmers, add a little water until a desired consistency is reached. The finished chili should have a slightly thick, gravy-like consistency.
Notes:
- It is very common for both home cooks and restaurants in the area to use a bit of bullion or base to up the flavor of the Green Chili. While most use chicken, I’ve found the combination of both chicken and beef to be perfect. They are a bit of a “secret weapon.”
- A heart healthier Green Chili can be made by replacing the fat in this recipe with oil, although the fats tend to be the basis of some of the flavor.
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