Smoked pork hocks don’t just add meatiness and body to this chile verde recipe; they release smoky, salty notes as they cook, seasoning the beans in the process.
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
3
2
2
6
¾
¾
2
3
4
1
2
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Sear ham hocks, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 6–8 minutes. Add chopped onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and beginning to brown around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Add coriander and cumin and cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until hocks begin to soften, about 1 hour.
Step 2
Add black-eyed peas to pot, cover, and cook, skimming foam from surface, until hocks and black-eyed peas are tender, about 1½ hours. Remove hocks; let cool. Pick meat from bone and shred; discard fat and bones. Return meat to pot.
Step 3
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Toss quartered onion, poblano chiles, and half of serrano chiles and tomatillos on a rimmed baking sheet with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; season lightly with salt. Roast, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned around the edges but still vibrantly colored, 15–20 minutes. Let cool.
Step 4
Transfer chile mixture to a blender; add cilantro and remaining serrano chiles and tomatillos and purée until smooth.
Step 5
Stir purée into bean mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chile verde topped with sour cream and chives.
Step 6
Do Ahead: Chile verde can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (20)
Back to TopLove this recipe. I’ve made it a bunch and now loosely follow it depending on what I feel like, typically upping the ham hocks (last time I brined and smoked my own pork hocks) and lowering the spice. I’ve made it without the Serrano and pablanos completely and it’s very deicious. I’ve subbed jals and green peppers (blacken then in the oven) also works great. I’ve sped up the process in a pressure cooker which also works great for the beans. Mine looks more like a split pea soup colour but it could be the omission of the hot peppers. We grow our own tomatillos and this is a great alternative to the large quantities of salsa verde we previously made!
Agh
Regina, SK
9/23/2022
So yummy!
Anonymous
SLO, CA
1/29/2022
I loved the idea of bean in green sauce. Any ideas how I can make this vegetarian? Just skip the meat or should I replace it with something else. Thanks .
N Shah
Chicago, Il
1/6/2022
I've made this every New Year's Day for the past five years. It's the perfect blend of my family's southern and southwestern roots. You get your black eyed peas for good luck, your tomatillos and cilantro for cash (collard greens are not my favorite), and served with cornbread for gold, it's the perfect New Year's meal. It tastes amazing, everyone loves it, and it's worth noting that it's a pretty cheap way to feed a crowd.
Whitney
Pomona, CA
12/27/2020
SO good. This recipe went into my, “will-make-at-least-a-few-times-a-year” notebook. The flavors that come together in a relatively short amount of time are lip-smacking good and they only get better with each passing day of leftovers. If you’re a chili fan but would love to experience something other than a very traditional, tomato and chili powder-based, chili, this recipe is a fantastic one to try. It will not turn the color in the picture but it still will be a beautiful green. All depends on the color of your tomatillos!
Anonymous
Detroit, MI
10/29/2020
This was delicious. Like another reviewer, mine resembled split pea soup in colour. The serranos added a really nice level of heat. We used canned beans and added them at the end which worked really well.
Anonymous
Vancouver, Canada
4/5/2020
It came out delicious and I would definitely make again. The only thing is it did not look anything like the photo. I was really looking forward to that bright vibrant green color. For some reason mine resembles split pea soup. Not sure what I did wrong. Any suggestions?
Anonymous
San Clemente, CA
2/27/2020