With the Chiefs out of the Super Bowl this year, it felt like there was a lot less pressure for Joey and I in hosting our annual party.
But that also meant a lot of hemming and hawing from our friends and family about attending.
It’s tough to commit to a Sunday night when you don’t really have a dog in the fight and Monday morning is looming.
We ended up with a great crew of four guests to watch the game and, thanks to our smaller contingent, a fridge full of leftovers to enjoy throughout the week.
The recipe I made for the group comes from the blog “Kevin is Cooking.” You can find the original recipe at https://keviniscooking.com/pork-chile-verde/. I added extra garlic in my version and added the optional potatoes.
Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder/pork butt
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1.5 pounds tomatillos
- 6 anaheim chile peppers
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 2 serrano peppers
- 1 large white onion
- 8 to 10 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro around 2 cups, stems included
Instructions
- Prepare the pork shoulder by cutting it into one-inch cubes. Add them to a large bowl and season with the cumin, salt and pepper. Mix to coat the meat, and then set it aside. (I put mine in a covered container in the fridge over night.)
- Husk the tomatillos and slice the stems off the peppers and give them all a good rinse. Also cut the onion in half, and add the tomatillos, peppers and onion to a large stockpot, covering them with water. Boil for about 8 minutes, and then remove them with a slotted spoon directly into a blender or food processor, along with the garlic and cilantro, blending until the mixture is smooth.
- Set the sauce aside.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven with a lid, and saute the pork cubes on all sides (do this in batches), just until each side has some nice color on it.
- Add all the pork back into the pot, along with all but one cup of the sauce, and stir to coat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Place the lid on the pot and cook for about three hours (stirring occasionally) or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 180 to 190 degrees.
- While the pork cooks, cube some Russet potatoes into one-inch pieces, and boil them until they are fork tender. Drain them and set them aside.
- When the pork is done, add in the potatoes and the rest of the sauce, and stir to combine. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve with tortilla chips, with corn or flour tortillas or just in a bowl.
This was really, really good. It’s a bit spicy but not over the top. You could easily throw in a couple more anaheim peppers and skip the jalapenos and serranos, if you wanted to make it extremely mild.
We also threw a can of kidney beans in a few servings for leftovers, and that was great.
In the past, I made tomatillo sauces by roasting my vegetables under the broiler or in my air fryer and then blending them, and you could absolutely do that with this recipe, too.
The next time we make chile verde, if I decide to boil the veggies, I’m going to plan on making another soup at the same time to use the leftover water, because it smelled absolutely amazing.
And while I was bummed that we didn’t get to see some of our friends and family who didn’t get out on Sunday, at least I can drown my sorrows with some awesome food they didn’t get a chance to enjoy.
This piece first appeared in print Feb. 12, 2026.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
