Crockpot Pork Chili Verde

I love crockpot cooking because the prep time is minimal compared to cooking time, and you don't have to be fussing about when you are hosting guests. So I adapted a combination of recipes to create my crockpot version of pork chili verde, which is probably as much a stew as anything else. I've had friends who've lived in costa rica tell me it tastes just like what they ate there. I'm not sure how to take that since I thought that pork chili verde was mexican in origin.

I fly by the seat of the pants kind when it comes to cooking. This will probably infuriate those who need to know the precise quantities of things.

There are a number of different green chilies you can use: pasilla/anaheim, serrano, jalapeno, habanero. I like spicy so I almost always include jalapenos. I may include a regular green pepper or two if they're on sale. My secret touch is to slice all the peppers into 1" pieces (avoid touching the white pith running down the middle - that's where the capsaicin - alkaloid that we perceive as being spicy- is concentrated.) and blacken them in an iron skillet over high heat (no oil) in lieu of roasting them over an open flame. it's a good idea to have the hood fan going if you have one - the vapors coming up off those peppers can be brutal if you inhale them. The blackening of the peppers does seem to affect the flavor.

After blackening the peppers and placing them in the crockpot, use the same pan to brown the pork. I personally don't mind if the meat is a little fatty - it's not necessarily healthy, but it sure does taste better. If you choose to trim some fat off the meat, don't discard all of it. The size of the pieces should be roughly bitesized, but i tend to let the crockpot cook until the meat is tender enough to separate with a fork, I won't bother if I'm using country style ribs. This is optional, but I like to place the meat in a plastic bag, add 1/4 cup of flour and do the ol' shake & bake thing to lightly coat the pork with flour, as it helps to brown the meat, and that flour also binds with fat during the cooking time to thicken the cooking liquid. Brown the meat in batches (salt & pepper to taste) (too much meat in the pan lowers the pan temperature and inhibits browning) and place meat in crockpot. The meat will be in layers. I like to alternate the sprinkling of oregano and cumin between each layer.

If you have any leftover pork fat, place some in the pan over medium heat. Some of the fat will have been transformed to liquid, remove the solid fat. If you don't have the pork fat, use olive oil.

Saute 1-2 onions (cut into 1" chunks) & 5-6 peeled cloves of garlic in the pan until onions change color. Add to crockpot.

Add about 6 tomatillos sliced into about 1" chunks to the crockpot. (If you want to add green pepper, do it here) I like to add a dark beer and a couple of chicken bouillion cubes to the mix, YMMV. it makes the whole thing a little soupy. But as I prefer to eat this over rice, sauce works for me, and I will thicken the liquid by adding a slurry of 1/4 flour dissolved in 1/2 of COLD water, 1/2 hour before the pork is done. The flour binds with any fat that hasn't already bound with the flour that was browned with the meat forming a poor man's roux, and acts as a thickening agent.

Top with minced cilantro when ready - some recipes say put it in, but I personallly don't care for the result that way.

If the result is a bit too spicy for your taste, I recommend  yogurt or sour cream - the milk proteins counteract the capsaicin alkaloids. I also would recommend sour cream if it seems too salty for whatever reason - sour cream with its relatively high acidity will reduce the apparent saltiness.

Chllies - call it 2 pasillas, 4 jalapenos 4 serranos

Pork - call it 4 lbs.

White Onion - 1 large, or 2 small

Garlic cloves (6)

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Cumin (approx 1 tsp)

Oregano (approx 1 tsp)

Tomatillos (6-8)

Optional:

Green pepper (1-2)

1 bottle dark beer

Chicken bouillion

Cilantro garnish

Easy (yet very tasty) Crockpot Pot Roast (with Gravy)

The french allegedly have 20 categories and sub-categories for braising. I'll take their word for it. The basic concept is fairly simple: Make a tougher cut of meat more palatable by first browning it, then simmering it in a small amount of liquid for a prolonged period of time. The low moist heat works to break down the connective tissue. A classic french braise would include the addition of vegetables to flavor the meat, but the vegetables would not be served.

Enough exposition. You're here because you want an easy crockpot recipe for pot roast that includes gravy.

But I'd be remiss if I didn't point out NOT to use any cut of meat labelled as a steak; think white meat when you think steak - most likely to remain tender and juicy when cooked quickly over high heat.

If there are really obvious layers of fat in your meat, remove most of it. But leave some - you'll see why later.

Sprinkle the meat with salt & pepper to taste, then coat meat with a light layer of flour.

Brown the meat (both sides). Place meat in crockpot.

Now to enhance the flavor. Aromatics include the following items: onion, carrot, celery, tomato, garlic,. fennel, bacon/pancetta. I personally recommend a combination of onion, carrot, garlic and bacon (especially the bacon - see my comments in the coq au vin recipe). The size of the pieces? While the french are incredibly anal about their mirepoix being cut into a very small dice (brunoise), I like to go bite-sized and give myself the option of turning the dish into a stew.

Use the same pan used to brown the meat. You can skip the oil if using bacon. The vegetables will absorb any residual bacon grease. Add the sauteed vegetables to the crockpot.

The braising liquid: it can be as simple as water.Any sort of broth. As I don't use tomato in the aromatics, I prefer to include something red - either red wine or tomato in the braising liquid. But don't use just red wine - it'll be too acidic. 1/2 red wine 1/2 water is fine. Add the braising liquid to the pan and using heat, deglaze the pan, loosening whatever bits that remain stuck to the pan after the browning and sauteing.  Add the braising liquid (with bits) to the crockpot. 1-2" of liquid is sufficient - do not cover the meat.

OPTIONAL: about 45 minutes before you expect the meat to be ready, scrub and cut 8 potatoes into 1" chunks. turn crockpot up to high and place potatoes on top of meat in crockpot. the potatoes will cook by absorbing heat from the simmering liquid and also absorb flavor from the meat and aromatics. When the potatoes are cooked, you can remove them and mash them with some melted butter and warm milk. Alternatively, you can mix the potatoes into the simmering liquid. and turn the dish into a stew. The starch from the potatoes should thicken the simmering liquid.

If the liquid is still thin, you can dissolve 1/4 cup of flour in 1/2 cup of COLD water, then add it to the crockpot. (This is called a slurry, BTW.) The flour will bind with the fat and thicken up the liquid, creating a gravy.

OPTIONAL (if you're going for a one dish stew) Add frozen peas 15 minutes before serving - adding peas too early overcooks them, resulting in a olive green mush. Do this AFTER you've added the slurry.

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Any basic variation of this recipe will result in a good meal. But if you want the best results in terms of flavor, include some kind of pork fat when sauteing the aromatics.

You say to-mat-o...

The majority of the tomato harvest is in, and prices are creeping back up accordingly. But tomatoes are still available (here, anyway) at about $.59/lb. and quality is still pretty good.

When it comes to the supermarkets, we don't have much control over how they're picked and ripened; picked when still green and artificially ripened by subjecting them to ethylene to prompt the creation of enzymes that soften cell walls and also convert starches to sugars. We're also subject to the choices of cultivars chosen by the growers, where soil/weather conditions, disease resistance and overall profitability are the primary considerations, not flavor. But if you didn't like what was available in June, don't fret - according to Tomato Magazine, in California, the cultivar grown in June is different from the ones grown in July and August. The final major factor is in the handling; ripening tomatoes produce a flavor enzyme, but once the temperature goes below 55 degrees, the enzyme stops producing flavor permanently. And many times tomatoes are shipped with lettuce - which is generally kept at 37 degrees.

So if you get fresh tomatoes:
- do NOT put them in the refrigerator.
- keep them stem side up
- if you are impatient and want the tomatoes to ripen faster, keep the tomatoes in a paper bag, which traps the ethylene;

Personally, I've evolved to a philosophy that when I have ingredients of good quality, I let those main ingredients do the heavy lifting in terms of providing flavor. Of course, the criteria for a perfect tomato seems to vary with locale, ethniciaty and personal history. So you will each have your own standard for a great tomato. Just don't ruin it by overdoing it. But if you insist on trying to raise the level of flavor, it should help to understand that a large part of the flavor comes from the balance of sweetness and acidity.

- salt, if something has been oversalted accidentally, I generally try to raise the acidity level to compensate, so if you find the acidity level of the tomatoes a little high for your tastes,  a little salt should bring the perceived acidity down so that the tomatoes will seem sweeter;
- herbs - especially basil, but pepper works also;
- balsamic vinegar' - can influence both the sweetness *and* the acidity if the tomatoes seem relatively tasteless;
- (surprise) something with a creamy mouth-feel often does the trick - a soft mozzarella, even mayonnaise - to pair up with the acidity (tartness) in the tomato (no surprise that tomato soup goes so well with a grilled cheese sandwich);
- most folks will tend to want to emphasize the sweetness, but if you want to raise the tartness, something acidic will do the trick - regular vinegar, lemon juice, even something like sour cream...

And of course, you can use these to liven up the flavor of the usual tomatoes available at the supermarket.

By any other name: egg and tomato

The world as I know it seems to surprisingly polarized over the following issue - scrambled eggs with ketchup, and scrambled eggs without. There are some who won't eat eggs without it, and some who won't eat it with (ketchup). To each their own.

Tomato and egg do actually go well together; as evidenced by classic mexican breakfast dish huevos rancheros. The main distinction seems to be that it's more of a tomato-chili salsa - instead of the tomato being sweetened the way it is in ketchup.

The chinese make their own version of huevos rancheros - fanqie jidan - instead of serving it over tortillas, it's most commonly served over rice. The recipe is quick, easy, and during the summer months when produce prices are at their lowest, extremely affordable. The version I just made for a late dinner also included sliken texture tofu.

YMMV, but a general rule of thumb seems to be 1 egg per 1-2 tomatoes depending on size.

Crack eggs and place in a bowl, whisk with a teaspoon of water (the water seems to make them fluffier) and scramble over low heat until they are just cooked through. Remove from heat.

Depending on the size cut the tomatoes into quarters or eighths, and cook them in a saucepan/wok over medium until they release their liquid. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Gently fold in the egg, (and if you want to add tofu as I did, add the tofu here as well).

Remove from heat, let sit for about 10 minutes, then serve, garnished with chopped green onion.

The result will be quite runny, and should be on the sweet side, but the green onion (scallion)  adds just enough edge to balance the sweetness.

Serve over rice.

Ingredients:
Eggs
Tomato
Sugar
Salt
Tofu (optional)
Green Onion