Pork Tomatillo Stew

The savory spices in this stew are warming and aromatic, making the house smell great. The rich pork shoulder and tart tomatillos are a perfect foil. Serve with sweet cornbread.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

2 1⁄2 pounds pork shoulder (see note)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder

4 cups chicken broth

2 pounds tomatillos, husked

1 yellow pepper 2 poblano chile peppers 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Coat pork shoulder with salt, oregano, cumin, garlic powder and ancho chile powder and place in a Dutch oven. Add chicken broth. Cover and braise in preheated oven 3 to 4 hours. Alternatively, cook 8 to 10 hours on low setting in a slow cooker or 75 minutes in an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker). Pork should be falling apart and very tender.

Remove pork and shred with two forks. Refrigerate with a little bit of the cooking juices to keep the meat moist. Separately refrigerate the meat and remaining cooking juices overnight.

In the morning, skim fat off the juices and reserve the pork stock. Save 1 tablespoon of pork fat for cooking the soup (optional).

When ready to put the soup together, preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place tomatillos, whole yellow pepper and whole poblano chiles on a lined baking sheet. Roast vegetables 20 to 25 minutes, turning at least once, until soft and spots are blackened. If you want more roasted spots, turn the broiler on high for the last 2 minutes. (This could be done the day before.) Let veggies cool, then remove skins, stems and seeds from peppers, and roughly chop. Roughly chop the tomatillos.

In a stockpot, melt reserved pork fat (or vegetable oil) over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Add roasted vegetables and all of their juices, along with a pinch of salt. Add pork stock. Using a blender or an immersion blender, pulse the broth, onions and roasted vegetables until they are blended but still a little chunky. Stir in pulled pork and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Note: If you cook 5 pounds of pork shoulder, you can eat a dinner of pulled pork and then make the stew.