Team Cook August - Chicken Chile Verde

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

For those who haven't cooked this yet, you may want to do 1.5 times the recipe as the yield was 3-4 servings at best and it is delicious (I suspect leftovers will be even better, but we'll have to wait until the 15th I suppose).

Also, if you are using an instantpot I would suggest 18 minutes pressure or do the 15 and let it natural release for 10 minutes or so. I don't wanna break the rules posting my thoughts too early this time, but for instantpot owners I think you'll have a much better result this way.

[Dewesq55]

I've never done one of these before. How does it work?

[Donw]

SheilaAnn posts a recipe in advance and then, following the recipe as close as possible, we each give it a try and post the results. I was going to participate this time but we went to a wedding in Arkansas this weekend and now have ended up with a house full of people who followed us home to celebrate my wife’s birthday.

[Dewesq55]

SheilaAnn I know what an instant pot is. I have a couple of them. I was asking about the Team Cook. Donw answered that question I was trying to ask. Thanks!

[SheilaAnn]

Dewesq55 oh my gosh! I feel so silly! There is also a general thread that explains the whole exercise.

[Dewesq55]

Going to the Supermarket today to buy the ingredients. Will bust out the instant pot this evening.

[Dewesq55]

When do we get to start posting about the cook?

[SheilaAnn]

Tomorrow!!

[Dewesq55]

Ok, but I've got a question. My instant pot doesn't seem to want to come to pressure without any added liquid. Has anybody else had this problem?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Did you sauté the veggies for a few.minutes first to release some additional liquid? IPs get finicky even with liquid sometimes.

[Dewesq55]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs I did not. I just rough chopped the peppers and onion and quartered the tomatillos. I put the veggies on the bottom and chicken on top.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

If you do it again, at minimum sweat the tomatillo and onion before pressure. I browned the chicken first as well which added even more starting moisture.

[Dewesq55]

So this turned out great, once I got the issues with my Instant Pot sorted out. Even Barbara loved it.

Here's all the produce (I used 3 serranos with the seeds in). Also the cumin seeds and yellow corn tortillas. The garlic didn't get in the picture but made it into the pot:


Four chicken leg quarters. I separated the drumsticks and thighs to make them easier to fit in the pot:

Using another Pit members suggestion, I set the pot for 18 minutes on high pressure and did a quick release when done. The chicken was cooked perfectly:

The sauce got pureed with the immersion blender, which was ready to do:

Here's everything back together. I put the pot on saute and brought it back up to a summer/low boil before serving:


Served in bowls with lime wedges, lightly chopped cilantro leaves and corn tortillas heated in the microwave:


I are mine like a taco with some Cholula green hot sauce sprinkled on top. I bet some crumbled cotija would have been good, but I didn't think to pick any up at the store:

This was fun, easy and delicious. I will likely make it again.

[SheilaAnn]

Great prep pictorial!! So glad you liked it. It will taste even better today.

[Dewesq55]

Thanks for "hosting" this, SheilaAnn

[barelfly]

TACOS!!!!!!!!!!!

I know…not a taco cook but…everything tacos!!!!!

Looks like a great cook!

[SheilaAnn]

So here is mine! I did not do a prep timeline like above (shame on BD). I served over rice, topped with a smidge of sour cream and fresh cilantro. Lime squeeze not shown.



and yes, you see white meat in there. I inadvertently thawed a whole chicken, not the thigh pack I had 🤦🏼♀️

and 18 minutes with NR worked like a dream!

[SheilaAnn]

I bit into one of my hatch chiles (I purchased lots and will be smoking them this weekend) after I put them in the IP and my heart sank. My tongue and lips were burning! But after the cook, it was super balanced with the right amount of heat.

[barelfly]

Mmmmmm!!! Looks yummy!!!! How were the tomatillos? That’s one thing that is different for this NM chile lover. Never use tomatillos in our green chile cooks. I’ve done a verde posole a few times and finding the balance was key.

Really looks good!

[SheilaAnn]

barelfly delicious! This is by no means a NM green chili. Just an interesting recipe BF found for me and it went into rotation immediately. I love that it is also a very forgiving recipe. I think the fish sauce definitely adds a dimension of flavor.

[OC Sandy]

This was a tasty cook. Instead of using my InstantPot I went with an enameled cast iron dutch oven. I roasted the veggies before cutting them up and putting them in the pot. Then I placed the chicken thighs on top, put the lid on the pot, and cooked in the oven at 350° until done. Then I removed the chicken, blended the cooked veggies, added shredded chicken back in and served it over rice with a dollop of sour cream. Leftovers were also delicious.

[Dewesq55]

Looks great! I was too lazy to roast any of the veggies.

[fzxdoc]

Very nice!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

So we didn't have hatches available when I did this Monday, but it was soooo good I bought stuff to make another (but double batch).

I did not roast any chilies AND couldn't find cumin seeds so guessed how much powder that would yield. I did brown the chicken then used the fat from that to start the high temp cook of the veggies after pulling the thighs.

I couldn't bring myself to discard the chicken skins, so I fried them up and then chopped. I used the chicken skin fat to crisp up the tortillas. We had no lime sadly at the time, but it didn't really need it. (Note I tried a few bites without adding the chicken skin first, it was great, but the crunch took things up a notch further)

I also learned that fish sauce is good for years past the expiration date in the fridge (but bought a new bottle today).

I suspect a splash of cider vinegar might take this up a notch but that could have just been my lack of lime juice.

*For instant pot owners, I was 1. surprised this worked without liquid... these things can be funny with the burned food sensor that stops pressure 2. a few more minutes pressure or natural release instead of instant would have been better as the chicken was not shreddable but I honestly like the chopped chunks we ended up with.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

For the second attempt, I'm going to char the peppers and the chicken on the grill. I'm also subbing the white onion for equal weight in shallots. I'm debating on using a splash of sherry and or ACV.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the IP info.

Why shallots? I usually like sweet onions before shallots when looking for a more mild onion presence, so am curious to learn something new.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

fzxdoc honestly, I dunno. I was thinking about carmalizing them. Also with the grilled flavor I'm bringing this second attempt and some other tweaks I might make I figured shallots might be able to stand out. Could be wrong, the recipe is A+ as is.

[58limited]

I took very few pictures. I do not have an Instant Pot or a large enough pressure cooker so i made this in a stock pot. I doubled the batch but decided "what the hell" and added all 10 lbs of leg quarters. I oven roasted the tomatillos, garlic, and onions. I used my new pepper roaster for the peppers: 1 3/4lb poblanos, 4 jalapenos, 2 serranos, and almost 2 lbs of hot Hatch chilies. I peeled the poblanos and Hatch chilies but didn't bother with the jalapenos and serranos.

This turned out excellent, the extra chicken made a very rich verde that solidified like jello when chilled in the fridge. I didn't dress it for the picture, it was late and I just grabbed a bowl.



SheilaAnn said something about a Bonus Cook - make your own tortillas. So I did with Masienda yellow masa. I used them to make Christmas Enchiladas a different way: the green (verde) is inside and the red (rojo) is outside. I used some homemade red enchilada sauce I canned last fall. Again, no pics except a finished picture. These were really good but a little wet - I probably should have made stacked enchiladas instead of rolled so it would be more like a casserole. Four quarts of the Chicken Chile Verde wound up in the freezer for later.

[fzxdoc]

I like the idea of Christmas enchiladas. Thanks!

K.

[Alan Brice]

I toasted the peppers on some charcoal. Decided to go ahead n get the chicken thighs started with some smoke. All came together nicely. Very flavorful!

[Dewesq55]

Looks great, Alan.

[fzxdoc]

Yum.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Ok, modified double batch version.



Last night I smoked the thighs until 140, then into a freezer bag in the fridge for the night. (stuff on top is salt I was smoking while peppers were in the cold smoker finishing dehydrating for pepper salt not used in this cook)



Partially caramelized shallots which replaced the onion by weight. Deglazed with a splash of white wine and removed to brown up the chicken.



While chicken was browning, I charred the peppers and put a couple marks on the tomatillos (being careful not to overheat them and lose liquid).



Peppers went into a bag, pulled what skin I could from them, and then proceeded per the recipe but doubled.





I think because I smoked the chicken first, I lost a little fat. Also the recipe doesnt work as well doubled. I think maybe 1 or 2 more tomatillos would have helped too, but I ended up adding a couple extra dashes of fish sauce and 3/4 stick of butter. I thought about adding a splash of chicken stock since I didn't have a sub for an extra tomatillo or two, but just left it thicker.




End result was an elevated dish compared to the recipe. But I wouldn't say it was elevated enough to be worth the extra hour of prep. I think with the way I did this modified cook, that a 1/4 cup of heavy cream may have taken it over the top (or I guess a dallop of sour cream). Regardless, the stock recipe with just smoked chicken or just a few charred ingredients is more than good enough on its own, especially when considering the cook time.

I did fry up the skins again this time and served with 2 lime wedges. I actually prefer the result without the lime juice.

[Sweaty Paul]

What a great series of cooks!

[yakima]

Dear BD,
I missed this cook due to a confluence of illness and relatives. But will make it sooner than later.
You are doing a great job.

I am going to fool with cous cous some; revisiting Paula Wolfert and Moroccan foods.
P

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

If you stick to the stock recipe it's maybe 30 minutes of your time in prep/cooking... got the whole rest of the month to play yet.

Hope the family illnesses are over with though, never fun when the whole tribe goes down... lasts weeks and sometimes makes another round!

[SheilaAnn]

Wishing you well! Paula’s book is coming soon! I promise.

[Spinaker]

Holy smokes this is cool. I really need to get on this deal.