To kick off our Labor Day weekend I made a double-batch of pork chile verde and invited some friends over for dinner. This is one of our favorite dishes but I don’t make it very often because of the time and effort that goes into cooking it.

It all starts with about 5 lbs of Anaheim peppers.

You can char the skins in a pan on the stove but it’s much easier on the grill. When you’re grilling this many peppers it takes a lot of effort to keep them all turning so the flesh of the pepper doesn’t burn. They will make a crackling sound and the smell is wonderful.

When you’re done you will have a nice pile of shriveled black peppers. They don’t look very appetizing at this point.

While the charred peppers are still hot, put them into a ziplock freezer bag and throw them in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.

While the peppers are cooling, throw your pre-soaked apple wood chips on your coals, slice your pork to maximize exposure for smoking, and “place the meat opposite the heat.” I used a 6 lb pork loin for this batch and let it smoke for about an hour on VERY low heat. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just getting it nice and smokey.

While the meat is smoking, remove your peppers from the ziplock and pull the skins off. Likewise, pull the stems off and discard the seeds. Don’t worry about pulling out any of the fleshy insides of the pepper. Removing the skin and seeds is much easier if you do it under running water. But you shouldn’t attempt this unless you have a garbage disposal or else your wife will have a fit. Trust me, I speak from experience. Pile up the peppers on a cutting board and then chop them all up into small pieces.

By the time your peppers are prepped, your pork will be finished smoking. Pull it off the grill and chop it into bite-size pieces. Don’t worry if some of the chunks are too big, they will become so moist in the crockpot that it won’t matter.

Add the meat and the diced peppers to the crockpot(s) along with a can (or two) of chicken broth. [I split the meat & peppers into two crockpots] Then add Rotel tomatoes and diced chilies. I put original in one pot and mild in another. Set your crockpot on high for 5-6 hours. Just before serving, stir in a couple of tablespoons of masa, aka cornstarch, to thicken the broth. That’s it.

From this base recipe you can go in several directions, but I’m usually not happy with the result. For example, I put chopped red onion in this time. It didn’t really affect the taste, but the purple skin of the onions turned a disgusting greenish-blueish color. I’ll use a yellow onion next time. Likewise, I put diced potatoes into one of the crockpots. They didn’t add to the taste and their firm texture conflicted with the pork. I won’t use them again. (Maybe I’ll use hominy instead… or carrots.)

The final product is absolutely delicious and well worth the effort. It’s hard to justify going to all the hassle for yourself, but it’s a fantastic meal to make for company. I usually eat it out of a bowl on the first night (paired with cornbread) and wrapped up in a tortilla with shredded cheese and sour cream on the second night.