Venison Chile Verde
Chile Verde could be considered a staple food in our House. One could say this might be the dish that you see at least once a month on our table during the colder season. Which is pretty much half of the year in Minnesota.
I was introduced to this dish by a good friend of mine who spend his highschool, and part of his collage years in New Mexico. He kept raving on about that special chile they grow around that small town of Hatch and how they fire roast fresh chiles in front of grocery stores for anyone to pick up a bag that is into a little bit of heat and a lot of flavor. I just had to try it! He organized me a couple of frozen roasted hatch chimes form his dad that still lived in New Mexico and i made my first Chile Verde.
Fast forward about 7 years and this feels like the hundreds batch im about to embark on. I could make that green delightful stew with my eyes closed. But one thing is different here. There is a whole venison tip roast on my cutting board. All the other batches I made I used a pork butt. I either braised or smoked the meat in a “over the top chile” set up, but I’ve never ventured away form the type of meat or even the specific cut. With pork butt being a very fatty cut, I know I have to add some fat to the dish to create the flavor profile I like so much.
I decided to add two kinds of fats during the process. I used some rendered duck fat i had in the freezer to saute all the onions and the meat chunks. At the end i added some strips of bacon and simmered it for many hours till the meat pulled apart easily. To my surprise the meat turned out fairly moist and I could still make out the venison flavor. I really like this version of the dish, and might change only one thig next time in smoking the rast before it gets finished in the chile.
A word on Hatch Chiles. My buddy was not wrong about the great flavor profile of those chiles. I don’t believe you can successfully replace them. I mainly use the medium kind since I think they have the best amount of heat with not taking anyway any of the amazing flavor. But how to eat your hands on any? You could always order some! Yes. They ship them freshly roasted all over the US. Even thou this might be the best tasting version, besides driving down to NM, it might not be the cheapest. I have seen official Hatch Chile Roasting stands pop up in front of grocery stores around Minnesota and Wisconsin in the last years but its very unpredictable (I usually fill up when i see them). The most economical and predictable way of getting my hands on some hatch chiles has been Costco. They sell them in a 40oz jar made by 505 wich is based out of NM.
Other than that there are really no secrets about this chile. Just some good ingredients and time make this a super delicious dish. I usually serve it with some sour cream or yoghurt, fresh baked sourdough bread to tortillas, cotija, and some cerveza.
Enjoy!
Venison Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons rendered duck or goose fat (or any oil/fat of your choice)
- 4 slices of bacon
- 5lbs of venison roast
- 2 large onions sliced
- 2lbs of tomatillos quartered
- 1 jar (40oz) of hatch chiles or 1.5lbs of freshly roasted chiles
- 1 quart of beef or venison stock
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
- 3 15 oz cans of beans (I usually use a mix of black, kidney and navy beans)
- 1 30oz can of hominy
- 1 bunch of cilantro chopped
- 1 cup of sour cream
- Cotija
- Bread or tortillas on the side
Instructions
- In a large pot heat up fat and add bacon pieces. You can chop them up or leave them whole. I like home whole.
- Salt the roast generously and brown it in the fat.
- Remove the meat and bacon, add onions and saute till browned.
- Put the meat and bacon back into the pot, add tomatillos, chiles, stock and cinnamon. If the meat is not covered with stock add some water.
- Cover and let simmer at low to medium heat for 3-4 hours or till meat is tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork.
- Shred the meat and add beans, hominy, and cilantro and simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes.
- Stir in sour cream and serve
- I usually serve it with bread or tortillas and top it with cotija.
