You guys, I'm a sucker for tender chunks of meat bathed in a rich and flavorful sauce. This time around we are talking pork and the sauce is made from a combination of two dried chiles, guajillo and ancho, warming spices, and a few other pantry staples. Once the sauce is made, this is so easy and makes a great main dish whether you use the slow cooker or a pressure cooker.
Check out this recipe for Pulled Pork Dry Rub for another way to prepare tender, succulent pork!
The first thing to do in putting the sauce together is to soak the chiles. I bring a couple of cups of water to boil in my electric kettle (love that thing!) and then pour the water over the stemmed and seeded chiles. Leave them for 30 minutes or so and they soften and plump up (they are in the mesh strainer there, below). As written, this recipe has almost zero spiciness, so my kids will eat it happily. If you have more adventurous taste buds in your house, try leaving some of the seeds in! Once the chiles are ready, everything goes in the blender and your sauce is done! Put it in the cooking vessel of choice along with the pork and you'll be ready for taco (or burrito, or nacho, or eat-it-straight-out-of-a-bowl) night.
My first grader shares my love of all things on a tortilla, and she eats as much of this flavorful chile colorado as I do on a taco night. Last time around we served it up with corn tortillas, tostadas, refried beans, and lots of toppings and let everyone pick and choose their favorite combinations.
Give this a try for a serious upgrade to the ground beef tacos that fill your regular Taco Tuesday. Regular tacos are good, but these will be better, I promise. Let me know how they turn out in the comments!
Serve this perfectly tender pork in a burrito bowl with this Parmesan corn au gratin or over a scoop of Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes!
Recipe
Chile Colorado
Ingredients
- 4 guajillo chiles
- 2 ancho chiles
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon cumin (ground)
- ¼ cup cilantro (stems or leaves and stems)
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon oregano (dried)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ cup chile soaking liquid (see instructions, below)
- 6 oz. tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 3½ pounds pork country ribs (trimmed of fat and cut into chunks)
Instructions
Prepare the sauce:
- Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and toast the chiles in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat until fragrant.
- Move the chiles to a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow them to soak for 30 minutes or so. Strain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid.
- To a blender add the rehydrated chiles, garlic, cumin, cilantro stems, salt, chicken bouillon, oregano, onion powder, soaking liquid, tomato paste, and water. Blend until smooth.
Pressure Cooker:
- Add sauce and pork to the cooker insert and stir to combine. Cook for 25 minutes with manual high pressure. Allow for natural release of the pressure.
Slow Cooker:
- Add sauce and pork to the cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
Notes
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts calculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Nutrition Facts
I'd love to hear your thoughts!