Bowl of Chicken Green Chili
(click to enlarge)

Chicken Green Chili


US Southwest
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 8 cups
***
1-3/4 hr
Yes		 A popular main dish stew in the American Southwest. It has little chili heat (unless you spice it up a bit) and can be made ahead.

2
1/2
1/2
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1-1/2
12
2
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7
3
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2
2
2/3
1
1/2
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2
1/2
2
14oz
1/3
2
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ar
#
T
t
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#
oz

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oz
cl
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t
t
t
t
t
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T
T
c
can
c
T
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Chicken Meat (1)
Salt
Pepper
-- Sauce
Tomatillos
Chili Green (2)
Chili Jalapeño
-- Aromatics
Onion
Garlic
-- Seasoning
Chili Powder grn (3)  
Oregano dry (4)
Cumin seed
Salt
Pepper
-------------
Olive Oil
Olive Oil (more)
Chicken Stock (5)
Cannellini Beans
Cilantro
Lime Juice
-- Toppings
As Desired
Do-Ahead
  1. If not on hand, make Chicken Stock.
Sauce   (Salsa Verde)   -   (25 min - can be done a day or two ahead and refrigerated)
  1. Husk TOMATILLOS, cut into about 8 chunks each and put into your Food Processor with the sharp blade.
  2. Blast GREEN CHILIS black with your Kitchen Torch and brush off the skins under running water.
  3. Cap GREEN CHILIS split in half lengthwise and remove seed mass. cut into medium pieces and add to the Food Processor.
  4. Cap JALAPEÑOS and remove seed mass leaving veins in. Chop into moderate pieces and add to Food Processor.
  5. Process Sauce until smooth.
Prep   -   (25 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into bite size pieces, keeping in mind it will shrink some with cooking. Season with Salt and Pepper.
  2. Quarter ONION lengthwise and slice about 1/8 inch crosswise.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine.
  4. Drain CANNELLINI BEANS.
  5. Chop CILANTRO small. Measure is after chopping moderately packed.
  6. Squeeze LIME JUICE.
Run   -   (55 min)
  1. In a sauté pan (3-1/2 quart), coverable wok, or similar, heat Olive Oil and fry Chicken tumbling until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. Watch the fond adhering to the pan. If it starts getting dark go on to the next step immediately.
  2. Add 1/2 T Olive Oil and fry Onions over moderate heat, stirring until translucent, then stir in Garlic for 30 seconds. Again, watch the fond, it can be light chocolate but must not burn.
  3. Stir in all Seasoning items and fry stirring for 30 seconds.
  4. Stir in Sauce, then Chicken, then Chicken Stock and Cannellini Beans. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until Chicken has the texture you desire. Adjust liquid as needed.
  5. Stir in Cilantro and Lime Juice, then take off the heat.
  6. Serve hot, with Toppings you desire. You can serve it with Steamed Rice on the table, spooned in as desired. For Buffet Service, just skip the toppings. You can set some toppings aside separately if you wish, but don't expect your guests to follow instructions - they won't.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken Meat:

      This should be skinless / boneless Thigh or Thigh and Leg meat. Usually, a couple of days ahead, I buy Thighs or Whole Legs (thigh and drumstick) - or a bag of Leg Quarters (if I want whole lot of meat and stock). I then remove skin and bones and freeze the meat (if it will not be used within a day) and use bones skins and offcuts to make the stock used for the recipe.

  2. Green Chili:

      Technically, these should be fresh green Hatch chilis from New Mexico. You're not likely to find these except during their short season and only fairly close to Hatch New Mexico. Here we use Green Anaheims, always available in most of North America. They are closely related, but a little hotter than Hatch.

  3. Chili Powder, Green:

      This is specified as Hatch Green Chile powder, which may be hard to find outside the deep Southwest, and on line it usually is in far greater amount than I will use. I just cap and seed a couple green Anaheims, cut into smallish pieces, dry them and run them to powder in my spice grinder. I use a dehydrator, but sun drying works fine. They will dry much faster if you blast them black with your Kitchen Torch and brush off the skins under running water. If you don't have it, skip it.

  4. Oregano, Dry:

      Technically this should be Mexican Oregano (a verbena) but nobody's going to notice if you use regular Mediterranean Oregano (a mint).

  5. Chicken Stock / Broth:

      See instructions at Chicken Meat. Of course you can buy a commercial product or fake it up with Chicken Bouillon, but I don't.

  6. Toppings:

      Typical toppings are (any one or several): slices of Lime; slices of Jalapeño; chopped Parsley; crumbles of White Cheese; Red Chili Flake; sliced Avocado; Fried Tortilla Strips.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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