New Mexican Style Green Chile Sauce (no pork!)

1 year ago

New-Mexican-Style-Green-Chile-Sauce-in-black-cast-iron-pan-with-corn-tortillas

An authentic favorite from the American Southwest, this New Mexican Style Green Chile Sauce goes great on just about anything!

When you think of New Mexico, one of the first things that has to come to mind is Hatch green chiles. For the uninitiated, these peppers are basically the signature crop of the state. There is NO substitution for them in this recipe – except perhaps Pueblo green chiles, which are the same pepper grown north in Pueblo, Colorado. To find out more about these chiles, how to find them and how they’re used, click here.

Unlike my Denver Green Chile Sauce recipe , this recipe requires absolutely no pork to be delicious! In fact, by switching the chicken broth for vegetable broth, this recipe can be totally vegan! The Hatch green chiles (and of course…the tequila) do all the heavy lifting here. Note that the peppers used in this recipe have already been roasted and peeled.

The recipe and ingredients seem simple, and indeed they are. The magic here comes from the different stages of cooking the chiles. By cooking half of them longer than the others, you get the complete range and depth of their flavor. I love these chiles, and they really need so little extra help to be awesome. You’ll notice that the ingredients are added in a certain order and allowed to cook for different amounts of time. Don’t be tempted to just put everything in the pot at once! You’ll miss out on what makes this recipe excellent.

round-white-bowl-of-New-Mexican-Style-Hatch-Green-Chile-Sauce-garnished-with-onions

Once you’ve made your New Mexico Style Green Chile Sauce, what can you do with it? Smother just about everything in it! It’s perfect for enchiladas and stacked enchiladas, burritos, eggs, corn bread, tostadas, chips and nachos, tamales, French fries and so so much more. In my experience, once you make it, you’ll find all kinds of excuses to use it.

Looking for more recipes from the American southwest? Try my New Mexican Style Red Chile Sauce, stacked enchiladas, (LINK) and Trading Post Beans recipes!

New Mexican Style Green Chile Sauce (no pork!)

An authentic favorite from the American Southwest, this New Mexican Style Green Chile Sauce goes great on just about anything!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Course Appetizer, Garnish, Sauce

Cuisine American Southwest and Mexican

Ingredients

2 white onions
1.5 lbs roasted, peeled Hatch green chiles (about 18-22 chiles)
3 tbsp olive oil
2.5 tbsp minced garlic (about 8 cloves)
1/4 cup gold tequila (1 airplane bottle or 50 ml)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp cumin
salt to taste

Instructions

Roughly chop both white onions and all (roasted and peeled) Hatch green chiles. Divide chiles into two equal piles. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a large stock pot.
Add onions to pot and cook until they've broken down somewhat and are beginning to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add minced garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring a few times to keep everything from sticking and burning.
Add half of the chopped green chile and simmer for another 10 or so minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add gold tequila and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the remaining Hatch chiles, chicken broth, cumin and salt. Simmer for another 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool somewhat. Ladle half of the green chile mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the blended green chile sauce back into the stock pot and stir to combine. Serve!