The Battle of the Green Chile Pork Recipes

My husband adores Mexican food. I’m not as enthusiastic in general, but one dish we both enjoy is Green Chile Pork. I found a pretty tasty recipe for this dish in my "Allrecipes" cookbook, and it was one of his favorite dinners that I’ve made so far. I loved the fact that it required so few ingredients and was so easy to prepare.

About 2 months later, while on vacation recently, I found another recipe for the same dish in "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American". Curious, I decided to try the new recipe and see which one was better. I made the dish this week, and felt like the second recipe was great, too, and was having a tough time deciding on the winner. Then, after comparing the two recipes, I realized that they were essentially..... exactly the same recipe! No wonder I couldn’t decide which had been better. I guess we’ll call it a tie.

Green Chile Pork

3 pounds boneless pork loin, cubed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
7 green chile peppers, chopped (or 2 small cans of diced green chiles)
1 T. cumin
4 cloves crushed garlic
4 cups chicken broth or water
1 (10 ounce) jar prepared green chile salsa
salt/pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the pork in oil, doing so in 2 to 3 batches. Place the meat in 3 to 4-quart covered saucepan and add celery, tomatoes, chilies, and garlic. Add about 1 cup chicken broth or water to skillet pork was cooked in, stirring over high heat to scrape up browned bits on bottom and bring to boil. Add to pot with enough additional water or broth to barely cover the ingredients. Cover and simmer until stew is thick and meat very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Season to taste before serving. If stew is not hot enough, add a bit of green salsa.
Serve with wheat tortillas and a green salad.