Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Adding all the ingredients to the pressure cooker, with no extra liquid, makes for an intensely flavored stew that cooks in its own juices.
  • Puréeing the cooked vegetables and adding fish sauce adds thickness and umami depth to the dish.

Most of the time when the phrase "Believe me" is used, it's shorthand for "I don't really have any evidence to back this up, but I want it to happen anyway, so I'm gonna pretend to be an authority."

Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (1)

But there are those rare occasions when the thing you're trying to describe is so unbelievable that it requires at least a bit of faith if the person you're talking to is going to give it a shot in the first place. What if I told you that you can make a rich, hearty, complex bowl ofchile verdewith only about 15 minutes of hands-on work? Believe me, you can.

Why Using a Pressure Cooker Works

There's a reason that easy pressure cooker green chili with chicken is one of our most popular pressure cooker recipes. It's because the flavor-to-work ratio is simply off the charts. Here's the gist: Dump some ingredients into a pressure cooker. Turn it on and cook. Blend, season, and enjoy. No pre-searing meat, no charring vegetables, and barely any advance prep at all. This pork chile verde uses a similar technique.

The reason it works so well is twofold. First, most pressure cooker recipes call for adding some liquid to the cooker before turning it on. That's because without liquid in there, there's nothing to convert to steam, so pressure can't build. Without liquid, your food ends up scorching instead of cooking. But there's a way around this—as long as you have enough vegetables in there, the liquid that evaporates as they heat up is more than enough to bring the pot to pressure.

The second reason it works is flavor. A stew simmered on the stovetop can be bland if you don't start off with some browning or charring. A bit of the old Maillard reaction, if you know what I mean. The boiling temperature of water at standard pressure is simply not hot enough for any browning to take place. A pressure cooker, on the other hand, reaches temperatures that are high enough to trigger some of that reaction. Yes, you'll only reach around 250°F (121°C) at full pressure, but with a little time, even that temperature is able to produce browning. Comparing identical stews side by side, one made on the stovetop and one made in a pressure cooker, confirms this for you.

It's a trick I first borrowed from my mother-in-law'sColombian chicken stewrecipe. Since then, I've adapted it for numerous other dishes. Today, I'm bringing the technique to a classic pork-based chile verde, and it couldn't be simpler.

Essential Ingredients

Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (2)

To begin, combine a few pounds of nicely marbled pork shoulder, cut into large chunks, with some quartered tomatillos, a roughly chopped onion, garlic, and green chiles. After everything is cooked, you purée the sauce, so leaving the meat in big, two-inch chunks makes it easy to grab. Don't worry, the pieces get tender enough that you can shred them with a fork as you eat.

What chiles you use depends on your taste and availability. For my money, there's nothing better than green Hatch chiles in a stew like this. But if you can't get them, a combination of poblano, Anaheim, Cubanelle, jalapeño, and serrano peppers is fine.

I typically use fresh chiles for this, but if you have frozen or jarred roasted Hatch chiles, they'll also work. The tomatillos provide the bulk of the liquid in this recipe, so don't worry about that.

Next, I season everything with a big pinch of salt and toasted, ground cumin.

Playing With Pressure

I dump the ingredients intoa pressure cooker, heat it until things start sizzling and steaming, then close the lid. At this stage, you may be thinking,Wait a minute, aren't I breakingtwoof the basic rules of pressure cooking by overfilling the container and not adding any liquid?Believe me, everything is gonna be all right. Inside that sealed cooker, those tomatillos break down rapidly, releasing their juices to the bottom of the pot and lowering the level of the food at the same time. Once it reaches high pressure, it'll take just half an hour for the pork shoulder to break down to a spoonably tender, juicy texture.

Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (4)

Final Steps

To finish the chile, I remove the pork with tongs, add a handful of cilantro and a dash of fish sauce (to enhance the meatiness of the dish—it won't make anything taste fishy), then blend it all together with a hand blender before stirring the meat back in.

Next...there is no next. It's done. Wasn't that easy?

It really is one of the most mind-blowing weeknight dinner tricks I know. Every time I make this kind of dish, I can't believe how much flavor I get with so little work.

March 2017

Recipe Details

Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe

Cook40 mins

Active15 mins

Total40 mins

Serves6to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds (1.9kg) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks

  • 3/4 pound tomatillos (about 4 large tomatillos; 350g), quartered, husks discarded

  • 2/3 pound poblano peppers (about 2 peppers; 300g), roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (see note)

  • 6 ounces Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers (about 2 peppers; 170g), roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (see note)

  • 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, roughly chopped, stems discarded (see note)

  • 8 ounces white onion (about 1 medium; 225g), roughly chopped

  • 6 medium cloves garlic, peeled

  • 1 tablespoon (15g) whole cumin seeds, toasted and ground (see note)

  • Kosher salt

  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and fine stems (about 1/2 ounce; 15g), plus more for garnish

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) Asian fish sauce, such as Red Boat

  • Fresh corn tortillas and lime wedges, for serving

Directions

  1. In a pressure cooker, combine pork, tomatillos, poblano peppers, Anaheim peppers, serrano peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and a big pinch of salt. Heat over high heat until gently sizzling, then seal pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 30 minutes. Release pressure.

    Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (5)

  2. Using tongs, transfer pork pieces to a bowl and set aside. Add cilantro and fish sauce to remaining contents in pressure cooker. Blend with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender, then season to taste with salt. Return pork to sauce and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately with tortillas and lime wedges.

    Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (6)

Special Equipment

Electric or stovetop pressure cooker , countertop blender or immersion blender, mortar and pestle or spice grinder

Notes

You can use other fresh green chiles in place of Anaheims, poblanos, and serranos. Using 100% Hatch chiles is a good way to go. You can also replace the fresh chiles with frozen or jarred roasted green chiles, using the same amount by weight.

Toast cumin in a dry skillet and grind with a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle for the most flavor. If there's one thing you can do to improve the flavor of any dish that includes dry spices, it's to use whole spices and grind them with a mortar and pestle. The difference it makes in side-by-side tests is astonishing, and cleaning a mortar and pestle is easier than cleaning an electric spice grinder.

  • Chili
  • Pressure Cooker
  • Pressure Cooked Stews
  • Pork Shoulder
Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How many minutes to cook pork in a pressure cooker? ›

Cook Time Chart for: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Turkey and Chicken
Meat, PoultryCook Time, (minutes)
Pork or ham, pieces, 2 lbs. (0.9 kg)20-23
Pork ribs, 2 lb (0.9 kg)15
Pork, roast, 3 to 4 lbs. (1.4 to 1.8 kg)45-55 (15 mins per pound)
Turkey breast, boneless, 2 lbs. (0.9 kg)20
27 more rows

Is pork better in slow cooker or pressure cooker? ›

Slow cooking the meat means it never has the chance to toughen up and will be extra silky and tender. Pressure cooking is faster, though you may lose a little bit of the tenderness. If you're going for the pressure cook method, be sure to get a pork shoulder or pork butt, as opposed to a pork loin.

How long do you cook 2 lb of meat in a pressure cooker? ›

The cooking time depends on how much beef you have. I like to assume 20 minutes for every pound of meat.

How do you thicken pork chili verde? ›

To thicken the chili, in a bowl mix together the masa harina with 2 table spoons of the chili liquid. Stir this back into the pot, along with the remaining 1/2 cup cilantro and the lime juice. Cook until the chili has thickened, 10 more minutes. Serve with sour cream and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

How much water do I put in a pressure cooker for meat? ›

Pour in at least two cups of water; use 1 to 2 cups more if the beef is a tough cut or to reach the minimum amount recommended by the pressure cooker's manufacturer. Seal the lid and bring the cooker up to full pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Why is my pork still tough after pressure cooker? ›

Overcooking can cause the meat to become dry, tough, and difficult to shred. Similarly, if you don't cook the pork long enough, it may be undercooked and tough. It's also important to avoid using a quick release or pressure, as this can cause the pork to seize and toughen.

Can you pressure cook pork too long? ›

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat.

Does pork get more tender the longer you slow cook it? ›

At around 2 hours, your pork chops will be cooked through (145°F) and have a texture similar to chicken breast — tender, but firm. Between 3 to 6 hours, the chops will have a texture closer to pulled pork; it will be easy to cut with a fork and will pull easily from the bone.

How do you keep pork from drying out in a slow cooker? ›

Cooking a lean roast like pork tenderloin in a slow cooker is tricky because it can quickly turn overcooked and dry. We discovered that nestling two tenderloins side by side, alternating the narrow and thicker ends, helped to insulate the meat and prevented it from overcooking.

Do you cover meat with liquid in a pressure cooker? ›

While you may cover meat almost completely for a conventional braise, use just enough liquid for the cooker to reach pressure – during pressure cooking the meat will release it's own juice and braise in that flavorful liquid, instead. DO use fresh herbs.

Is 2 cups of water too much for a pressure cooker? ›

Follow this tip: While at least 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid is essential to well-cooked food in the pressure cooker, too much liquid will pull the flavor out of foods. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, use just enough liquid to bring the cooker to pressure.

What is the best meat to cook in a pressure cooker? ›

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

What is the difference between chili verde and green chili? ›

In Spanish, chili verde means “green chili” and refers to the fruit people often use to give heat to dishes they are cooking. So, on the one hand, chili verde is an ingredient. On the other hand, green chili is a complete dish with which many people are familiar.

What can I add to chili verde to make it less spicy? ›

Add tomatoes (or tomato sauce or puree), for they soak up heat and spiciness. Serve with guacamole and/or sour cream; they're soothing and oily. Serve with or follow with something made with dairy products: cheese, ice cream, flan, even milk.

What to pair with chili verde? ›

The best side dishes to serve with Chile Verde are red beans and rice, baked potatoes, tostadas, guacamole, radish chips, corn salsa, refried beans, Spanish rice, tortilla chips, Mexican street corn, quinoa salad, black bean salad, Mexican coleslaw, cheesy chile cornbread, roasted cauliflower, and Mexican rice pilaf.

How long does it take to pressure can pork? ›

Put lids on. Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.) Processing time: half-litre (US pint) jars for 75 minutes OR 1 litre (US quart) jars for 90 minutes.

How many minutes per pound to cook pork? ›

Pre-heat oven to 325F (163C). Bake pork roast in the oven UNCOVERED for approximately 25-30 MINUTES *PER POUND* (55-66 MINUTES PER KILOGRAM) Or until internal temperature reaches 155F (68C), rested to a final 160F (71C).

How to calculate pressure cooking time? ›

Just multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 or 2 times, but keep the cooking time the same. It may take longer for the cooker to come to pressure since it takes longer to bring more food to a boil, but the cooking time should be the same.

References

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