BBQ Chili Verde
This is one of my personal favorite recipes, it’s a long process but I think it’s worth it. My family of 4 can eat this meal for a couple of days after I make it. It makes fantastic burritos and some incredible omelettes the next morning. The smoke on the pork adds a new flavor to a classic northern Mexican dish.
Cookers I Used:
Weber 14” Smokey Mountain
Weber 22” Kettle (can 100% be done on the kettle alone if needed)
Fuel Used:
Lump Charcoal (Pork butt)
Briquette Charcoal (Fire roasted salsa)
Wood chunk (Hickory)
Total time:
Salsa Verde - 30 min
Pork Butt - about 7 Hours total (Your mileage may vary!)
Ingredients
Protein
4-5lb boston butt (or pork butt) with Kosher salt for dry brine
Mexican style chili rub
2 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tbsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tbsp Black Pepper
Fire Roasted Salsa Verde
10 tomatillos (about golf ball sized or slightly larger)
1 Poblano
1 Anaheim
2 Jalapenos, Fresno’s or Serrano peppers (dial this back if you don’t like it hot)
3 cloves garlic
1 medium sized white onion
Small bunch of cilantro
Juice of 1 lime (2 if they’re small)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Mexican Oregano
1-2 dashes cumin
Time Line:
24 Hours before the cook:
I start by taking the meat out of the package and trimming all the excess fat off the outside of the pork butt, don’t worry this cut of meat has plenty of marbling for flavor on the inside. Once trimmed I generously apply the kosher salt to the outside of the meat. Bag it in a freezer bag and throw it in the fridge overnight.
4-8 Hours before the cook:
Now let’s prepare the salsa. You’re going to be taking the tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic and roasting them with fire. I’m looking for some of that delicious char on my salsa verde. I blacken the peppers and onions over direct heat and then roast the tomatillos and garlic indirect. You can tell when the peppers are done because they blacken and will develop this papery texture on the outside. The peppers take about 2 min per side to char up, and that’s all we are looking for. Remove them from the heat when they’re finished and throw them in a bowl with a cover over the top (like a wet paper towel). This will make them sweat and get super tender. Take the peppers and cut the tops off, if you like it less spicy remove the seeds during this step. The onions will develop char on each side you roast them on. Add everything to the blender or food processor.
You can cook the tomatillos and garlic over indirect heat until they are done, I don’t usually char these. You’ll get enough of that from the peppers. The tomatillos are done when they turn from a vibrant to a pale green. If this is your first time using tomatillos, don’t worry the color is normal! I put the garlic on a little foil square so they don’t fall through the grates. Remove everything when they are all done. I add all of it whole into the food processor or blender for mixing.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend to your liking, I like it with a little texture so I will coarsely blend it. Let it rest in the fridge.
Day of the cook:
Fire up your cooker and get it up to temp, I usually cook at around 250 - 300F in my Weber Smokey Mountain. This takes about a full load of unlit charcoal, that I add 1 lighter cube to. I bury the cube in the charcoal a bit and light it. From there it takes about 15-20 min for it to come up to temp. I use that time to prepare for the cook.
I take the pork butt out of the fridge and dress it with the dry rub (a time saver would be to rub it with one of your favorite BBQ rubs or a mexican style seasoning). I keep a remote thermometer in the meat so I can keep an eye on the temperature throughout the cook. Just before putting the meat on I like to hit the fire with a bit of natural wood to get that smokey flavor. I add one small to medium wood chunk or a small handful of wood chips. I let them burn down to get rid of that acrid white smoke, I wait until they are about 90% burned on the outside then add the meat. I’m looking for that “clean smoke” when I cook. I let the pork ride until it hits a temperature of about 175-185F (no hard and fast rules here, do what makes sense to you). It should already have a maximum amount of smoke flavor at this point. I transfer it to a slow cooker and add about ¾ of the salsa covering the top of the pork along with some on the bottom to braise the pork.
At this point I'll add the salsa verde and pork butt to the slow cooker on high heat to finish it off. I’m looking for an internal temperature above 195F usually. You can tell when it’s done by when it starts to pull easily with a fork. I would use the fork method rather than the temp method for determining at this point. Once it’s done pull it apart and let it continue to braise in the liquid for another 10-15 min. You can serve immediately after that. With this dish I find it’s best after sitting in the warmer for about an hour or so. I love to put it in warm tortillas with some cheese, avocado and hot sauce. Delicious.
Remember to make it your own, feel free to tailor this recipe to your liking. You can use a pre-made seasoning or your favorite salsa verde to simplify things. I like to make it myself if I have the time. I find it highly rewarding and wanted to share that with you. Enjoy!
TLDR Steps:
Salt the pork for 24 hours
Make the Salsa Verde
Start the BBQ and get it up to 250-300F
Smoke the pork until internal temperature of 175-185F
Add pork and salsa to a slow cooker
Wait for it to be fork tender and pull it
Serve it up with warm tortillas and fixings!