Chipotle Pork Stew

Okay, David, here is the next project: Chipotle Pork Stew. I had you get all of the ingredients the week I was there--all except for the pork. (Well, the tomatillos, if you haven't already used them for something else, may be getting a little bit long in the tooth.)

This is the stuff that needs to be cut or chopped:

1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies, diced or 2 anaheim chilies, roasted peeled and diced
1 (7 ounce) can tomatillos, drained and roughly chopped or 7 tomatillos, chopped
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile in adobo (this is in a can; refrigerate or freeze the residue in one of those little plastic containers)

And these spices need to be mixed together. If you still don't have a mortar & pestle, then you might try the bottom edge of a coffee cup for grinding the cumin; to chop the oregano, strip it off the stems and rock your knife up and down on the leaves (see this movie):

1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Even though you cut the pork off the bones, go ahead and leave the bones in when you are cooking the meat; it will add flavor and gelatin to the stock (take them out before you freeze any of this, though: the sharp bones will poke right through the plastic).

When I made this, I used the crock pot, as it's really ideally suited for that.

As the recipe suggests, you can serve this over rice, but I see it as ideal taco filling, as well. :-) If you don't want to stand over your crappy pot making sure it's not burning on the bottom, you could also transfer it, after it comes to a simmer, to that big pyrex pan you have and finish it in the oven, probably at about 325 degrees.

Update:I made this at my mom's house during Christmas week 2009, only I doubled it and used chicken thighs instead of pork. When it was done we took off the skin and removed the bones, then refrigerated to it was easy to skim the fat off the top. I also made this when I had a long-term houseguest in the fall, and with some additional broth, black beans, tomatoes and so on, it made a really terrific soup. This one is a keeper for sure.