Crock Pot Smoked Pork Chile Verde
If you’re a fan of bold, smoky flavors and fall-off-the-bone tender pork, then this crock pot smoked pork chile verde will be your new favorite dish. Tender braised pork shoulder simmers in a zesty salsa verde for a Mexican classic that’s sure to wake up your taste buds. The star of the show here is salsa verde made from tomatillos – those small, sticky green fruits that are the base of so many incredible Mexican sauces. Combined with hot green chiles like Jalapenos, poblanos garlic, onions, and cilantro, you get an unbelievably bright, vibrant green sauce that’s deliciously tangy and packed full of roasted, spicy flavor for the ultimate crock pot smoked pork chile verde.
Whenever there is a chili cook-off I am known for taking my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup chili. I figured to change it up at the latest chili cook-off with a white chili, but white chicken chili didn’t seem special enough. Then, I was inspired to make a pork chile verde after having pork carnitas for dinner one night.
Ingredients for Chile Verde with Pork
The key to this recipe is starting with a quality pork shoulder (also called pork butt) and giving it a long, slow smoke over wood chips or chunks. The low, indirect heat allows the pork to tenderize while absorbing that marvelous smoky aroma.
For the Green Chili Sauce:
- poblano or Anaheim chilies
- onion
- garlic
- fresh cilantro,
- limes
- ground cumin
- dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ingredient 1
- ingredient 2
- ingredient 3
For the Pork Shoulder:
- pork shoulder
- Adobo seasoning
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Chile Verde:
- Salsa Verde
- Great Northern Beans
- Chicken Broth or Chicken Stock
- Red Onions
- Cilantro
- Sour Cream
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for How to Make Pork Should Chile Verde
Start making this flavorful and smoky chile verde by doing a short smoke on the pork shoulder. Cover with oil and season with adobo seasoning.
While the pork is smoking, you’ll roast poblano and Anaheim peppers, jalapeños, onions, and garlic on the grill to create a zesty green chile sauce. Blending the roasted vegetables with cilantro and broth makes a vibrant, tangy salsa that perfectly complements the smoky pork.
Place the smoked pork shoulders in the crock pot with chicken broth and salsa verde. Slow cook for 8 hours.
When the pork is fork tender, shred the pork with large forks or remove it from the crock pot and cut it into chunks. Then stir the broth and salsa into the pork.
Peel the peppers you roasted on the grill, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Place the peppers, roasted onion, and garlic cloves into a food processor. Squeeze lime juice into the vegetables, cumin, oregano, and cilantro leaves pulled from the stems.
Pour the pureed green sauce and white beans over the pork. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste, stir to combine and cook on low for an additional hour.
Once the Pork Shoulder Chile Verde is cooked to perfection, turn the heat to warm. Serve the dish hot, accompanied by warm tortillas, cooked rice, beans, and your choice of garnishes such as fresh cilantro, red onion, sliced radishes, sour cream, and lime wedges. Enjoy the explosion of flavors with each delicious bite!
Hint: For even more smoky flavors, cook the pork shoulder completely on the smoker until it reaches 200 degrees. Then remove and place it in a slow cooker or Dutch oven. Shred the pork and add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for two to three hours.
Substitutions
Change up the ingredients based on your flavor preference or dietary needs. Here are ways to change up the pork chile verde.
- Pork Shoulder – Substitute pork shoulder with other meats such as chicken thighs, beef chuck, or even turkey for a different flavor profile.
- Spice Level – Adjust the heat level of the verde sauce by adding more or fewer chilies. Use hotter varieties like serrano peppers or jalapeños for a spicier kick, or mild peppers like bell peppers for a milder flavor.
- Vegetarian – For a vegetarian version, replace the meat with hearty vegetables like chunks of potatoes, carrots, or butternut squash. You can also add protein-rich ingredients like tofu or seitan.
Chile Verde Essentials
All the essential seasonings and spices plus kitchen gadgets you need for the ultimate pork chile verde can be found on my Amazon list.
Storing Leftovers
Make a batch over the weekend and enjoy the leftovers all week long. It’s just as good, if not better, after the flavors have had time to meld. Store the leftover chile verde in the fridge or freezer. Here are the recommendations on how to enjoy leftover pork chili verde.
- Refrigerator: Place the leftover pork chile verde in an air-tight container and in the fridge for up to five days. Reheat in a Dutch oven on the stovetop or one serving at a time in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Heat either way, stirring occasionally until hot.
- Freezer: Pour the chili verde into a freezer-safe bag or container. Label with the date and what it is, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Top tip
Take the time to roast the tomatillos, chilies, onions, and garlic until they’re well-charred and caramelized. This process intensifies their flavors and adds complexity to the verde sauce.
FAQ
Chile Verde can be mild, medium or hot heat. To make the chile verde spicier, keep the seeds in the sauce. To keep heat less for chile verde, use just poblano and Anaheim peppers and not the jalapeno or serrano peppers.
Chile Verde, which translates to “green chili” in Spanish, traces its roots back to Mexico, particularly the regions of northern Mexico and the American Southwest. It’s a dish beloved for its depth of flavor and versatility, featuring chunks of tender meat bathed in a savory green sauce made primarily from tomatillos, green chilies, and cilantro.
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Crock Pot Smoked Pork Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 4 lb Pork shoulder
- 2 teaspoons adobo seasoning
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 poblano peppers
- 2 Anaheim peppers
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 1 large onion
- 1 head garlic
- 2 cups salsa verde
- 2 cups chicken broth or Chicken Better Than Bouillon
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 red onion
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Get your smoker to 250℉ and place your plate for indirect heat.
- Rub oil and adobo seasoning on the pork shoulder(s). Place the pork shoulder on the smoker. Flip after 30 minutes
- Cut the bottom off the garlic head. Peel the outside skin off the onion. Rub with oil and place on the smoker along with the peppers. Blister the skins of the peppers, onions, and garlic to get smoky and roasted flavors. Rotate the vegetables to roast all sides. Remove the vegetables and set aside.
- Remove the pork shoulder from smoker after an hour or two place in a crock pot. Pour salsa verde. Also pour in the chicken stock. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Peel the skin off the peppers, cut the tops off and remove the seeds. Place in the food processor along with the onions, garlic, lime juice, cumin, a tablespoon of fresh cilantro and oregano to make a green chile sauce.
- With an hour remaining to cook. Cut up meat or pull it apart with fork while in the crock pot. Stir the green chile sauce and navy beans into the pork. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another hour on low.
- Garnish the chile verde with red onion, radishes, cilantro or sour cream.
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