One of my favorite rainy weather recipes is a Pork and Tomatillo Stew. Similar to a Chili Verde, it is rich and satisfying, but with the pork shoulder (or butt) it’s pretty high in fat. I am craving this flavor, but I want to try to lighten it up a bit.
I contemplated using a different, more lean cut of pork, but I think the only one that would produce a decently tender result would be pork tenderloin. I’m sure it would be wonderful, and someday I will try it when I find it on a super sale, but it felt a little pricey for tonight.
My favorite local market in Davis, Nugget Market, had their free range whole fryer chicken on sale, so I was inspired to try this. One of the guys in the meat department (I am kicking myself for not asking his name because his service was so amazing that I would love to call the store management to tell them this) not only did he take the time to chat with me about what meats might make a reasonable substitute to lighten up my recipe, when I settled on a whole chicken he offered to cut it up for me. Really? I love this store. I am perfectly capable of cutting up a chicken on my own, but it was really nice have it done for me. That gave me a few extra minutes to do other stuff this evening. So, thank you!
Chicken and Tomatillo Stew
One whole chicken, about 4 to 5 pounds
2 tablespoons oil
1 to 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
1 bunch green onions
2 cloves fresh garlic
3 or more serrano chiles (how hot do you want it?)
1 red onion, diced
1 7-ounce can green chiles
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bunch fresh cilantro, cleaned and trimmed
salt & pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the chicken into pieces – you will use the drumsticks, thighs, and breasts for this recipe. Reserve the wings, back, and rib bones for stock. Alternatively, you can just use about 4 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, or about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of boneless chicken breast, or a combination of both. Remove the skin and discard. Cut the breast meat into about 3/4-inch cubes and set aside.
Prepare the tomatillos: remove the husks and discard; rinse and drain the tomatillos. Place in a roasting pan.
Prepare the serranos*: trim the stems and place in the roasting pan with the tomatillos.
Tomatillos, serranos, green onions, & garlic
*How hot do you want this dish? I like it pretty hot, so I use lots of serranos, but I seed all of them. I like the flavor of this pepper, but not the seed. I always wear gloves whenever handling hot peppers. To seed serranos, you’ll want to remove the stem, then cut them lengthwise in half. Using your finger, remove the seeds and discard.
Prepare the green onions: trim the ends and peel the outer layer. Trim off any of the dark green end that doesn’t look good. This is very subjective, but you will know when you look at the green onions you have. Add to the roasting pan with the tomatillos.
Peel the garlic and add to the roasting pan with the tomatillos.
Place the tomatillos, serranos, green onions, and garlic in the preheated oven and roast until lightly charred. Depending on your oven, you may want to broil these, or even better use your grill to roast them. If you use your grill, you’ll probably want to use a disposable pan.
Brown the drumsticks and thighs
While the tomatillos are roasting:
Rinse the cilantro and set aside to drain.
Heat about 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy stock pot. Brown the chicken legs on each side, then remove from the pan. Add the breast meat – depending on the size of your stock pot, you’ll probably want to do this in two additions, adding a little oil (if necessary) between additions. Brown lightly and remove from the pan.
Check on the tomatillos – if they’re ready, remove them from the oven. You’ll want them to cool a bit before putting them in your blender to process.
Foodie confession … I once melted a KitchenAid blender because I did not allow the tomatillos to cool before processing. Please don’t do this – learn from my (expensive) mistake.
If necessary, add a little more oil to the pan, then add the onions and saute until softened.
Cube the chicken breast
Chop the red onion
Briefly saute the chicken
While the onions are cooking, blend the tomatillos, green onion, serranos, and cilantro until smooth.
Return chicken to the pot, then add the blended tomatillo mixture. Give a good stir, but remember that you’ll want the bone-in pieces of chicken (legs & things) to be completely submerged so that they cook fully. Add the dried thyme. Allow to gently simmer for about an hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the tomatillo mixture
Give a good stir
I like to serve this over brown rice with warm, fresh tortillas.
This also makes a fantastic topping for a quesadilla or burrito filling.
A dollop of plain fat free Greek yogurt will help to cool the heat if you accidentally make it too spicy for you. It may take a few tries to get just the right heat level for you.
Enjoy!
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