hang on to your carcass
Recipe: green chile stew
We got over a foot of snow this weekend, which makes for a happy Jen. Catching some bloody 24-hour flu bug was not so happy-making, but I kicked it by 2:00 this morning and we were on the slopes by 8:30 am. Wow! There was a lot of snow and some wacky conditions. I got up close and personal with the snow several times.
the morning scene at the hill
shortly after i shot this picture, i bit it big time
After skiing, there is nothing like coming home and having a hot, steaming bowl of soup. I had a whole pot of soup at the ready because I made green chile stew yesterday from my leftover turkey carcass.
make turkey stock
The stock isn’t a necessary part of the stew recipe, but it is a necessary part of my turkey because I love homemade broth. I typically pile the main carcass, the wings, the drumstick and thigh bones into my crock pot and cover with water. Then I just set the pot on high for 8 hours and come back to lovely broth. When the broth cools, I defat it the same way I defatted the turkey drippings via ziploc bag. Then I pick any turkey meat off the bones and combine it with leftover turkey to total about a pound of meat.
new mexican red chiles
My recipe for green chile stew comes from a good friend of mine in New Mexico. It calls for a pound of meat and you can use beef, pork, or chicken. We just happened to have a lot of bleeping turkey in the house. Instead of water, I used my homemade turkey broth. The recipe also calls for using a few New Mexican red chiles if using canned green chiles. I love the red chiles, so I tossed those in, even though I have the real deal on the green chiles.
simmer turkey meat with red chiles
I like to rip the tops off the red chiles and shake out all of the seeds while they are dry. After simmering them in the turkey broth with the meat for an hour, I removed the red chiles and scraped the “meat” from the skins. Then I chopped the chile meat into a paste and returned it to the pot.
scooping off the good stuff
For the roasted green chiles, I pulled off the skins, cut off the tops, and scraped out the seeds. I can’t stand getting a mouthful of seeds in my stew. A quick dice and they were ready for the stew.
skinning roasted green chiles
adding all of the vegetables to the broth
In addition to the chiles, the stew is loaded with potatoes, onions, and garlic. It has a soupy consistency, but you can simmer it down to be as thick or thin as you like. The hotness will depend on how spicy your chiles are. Jeremy loves to eat a bowl of green chile stew with a warm flour tortilla for dipping.
hot and spicy après ski
New Mexican Green Chile Stew
[print recipe]
1 lb. lean beef round, pork or chicken
4 medium potatoes, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 roasted green chile peppers (Hatch), skinned, deseeded, diced
2 medium onions, minced
2 tsps salt
3 red chiles (New Mexico) if using canned green chilis
Cube meat, boil in water with red chiles for one hour. Remove red chiles from pot and deseed (I deseed when they are dry) and scrape off chile meat. Mince and return to pot (discard skins and seeds). Add potatoes, onions, garlic, salt, green chiles and enough water to cover. Bring to boil and then simmer for at least 40 minutes. Continue to add water if necessary. It will have a soupy consistency.
November 30th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
this looks so good! But getting my hands on some of these Mexican chiles is gonna be really tough! Till then!
And wow! The hill is really busy when it is still that early! I guess many of the people staying rise early. No?
take care Jen! xxoo
November 30th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Yeah… I love soup, especially after a long day of skiin’. ‘Sup. Hee hee hee. Awesome twist on a Mexican recipe, and great way of getting rid of leftovers too! Too bad we don’t get good roasted chilies (it’s usually weird stuff in a can) here. Someday, if I ever get to return to the West/Southwest!
November 30th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I have to say, we are jealous! Just drove back from Montana today – no snow there & no snow in Tahoe! Dying to do some skiing, it has been 3 years for us – UGH!
The soups looks fantastic, too! I love the peppers you used in the recipe. Can’t wait to try it out!
Happy belated turkey day to you both!!
xx oo
November 30th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Nice. This is sort of what I plan on doing with my leftover turkey and broth. I think I’m going to go for a less-healthy plan with cream of green chile turkey soup.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Nice snow pictures! That’s what I call a comforting soup! Very flavorful looking!
Cheers,
Rosa
December 1st, 2008 at 8:27 am
I’m planning on making chicken stock (2 people + turkey = too many leftovers), but I noticed you don’t put anything but water and the carcass in to make stock – I always thought aromatics were a requirement. What’s your opinion?
And skiing – so jealous, since all we have is 3 inches of snow on flat flat ground here in Wisconsin. *sigh*
December 1st, 2008 at 8:30 am
Wow – the skiing looks amazing! As does the soup. I love your way of using the slow cooker to do the broth.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:17 am
I’ve been trying to decide what to make with my leftover turkey and the stock I made with the carcass (what a terrible thing to call it!). I think this just might be it. I roasted a bunch of poblano peppers of the a fire this summer and froze them, I think they’ll sub in well for the green chiles!
December 1st, 2008 at 11:52 am
It snowed here in Chicago, too, but sadly there are no mountains to ski in these parts. Looks like so much fun!
December 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Next time try it with homemade flour tortillas. Store-bought will never be acceptable after that.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Ahhh, Hatch! I am now so very hungry, but I have no carcass. That’s what I get for being the dessert lady. :(
December 1st, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Num…. I made stock yesterday and this looks great!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Jen, Bueno Idea! I make it manana (tomorrow)
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:41 am
Does this ever look good!
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:05 am
that looks like breckenridge. so jealous!!!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
Ah! Finally snow…so I can live it vicariously through you again this year! Glad to hear the sickie bug is gone! I am getting isck but I fear it is the slow-llllyyyyy coming on cold…The only leftovers I brought back from my sister in law at T-Day was the carcass :) Crazy French Girl!!!!
The soup looks wonderful!
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Your green chile stew brought back some fond memories of my first experience with green chile.
A friend from originally from New Mexico moved to Hawaii and opened a chile shop in Honolulu. Since I’m a chilehead, I frequented the shop and got to know him quite well. His sister sent him some xtra hot Hatch green chile and he gave me a pot of NM green chile stew to take home and enjoy. I was totally blown away by the flavor and heat of the green chile. I learned to make the stew and became quite proficient at roasting/skinning green chile. Then one day at the shop, he dishes up a bowl of red chile stew which was a totally different taste, but just as good, and then he gave me a flautas made with turkey and mole verde. WOW.
We did not have a turkey for Thanksgiving this year, but we did have a ginormous ham hock. I saved the bone and made a nice congee with mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts, and of course green chile.
Sad to say that my friend passed away a few years ago, but I always remember the great times at the chile shop when I make my green chile stew.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Mrs. E – locals come out in droves on a powder day :)
Mark – yeah, the canned stuff is okay, but nothing like the real thing!
Chez US – three years? that’s a loooong time. Happy t-giving to you guys.
Bridget – ah, I like cream, but my tummy doesn’t. That’s probably good for my hips and thighs ;)
Rosa – thanks!
Caitlin – funny that. I noticed in a lot of books that they add the aromatics, but I don’t. I like my stock without the flavorings because they would add a strange taste to some Chinese cooking. So I go with water, bird, and salt. It’s the way my mom made broth when I was growing up. You can always add to it for a recipe later, but you can’t remove flavorings.
Culinarywannabe – I love my crock pot!! :)
Susy – yum!! Sounds good.
Asianmommy – yeah, that was one of our prerequisites for where to live… must have snow and mountains.
Judy – I actually detest flour tortillas with my soup (Jeremy is the New Mexican), but yes, homemade are better.
Margie – you should have asked for the carcass!
Mollie – looooove turkey stock – more than the turkey!
Cynthia – great :)
Eileen – thanks!
Kristina – it’s Eldora, but all the ski hills look the same on a powder day :)
Tartelette – I love crazy french girls! Take some vitamin C each day, yes? You can’t possibly crash and burn this month!
KKLL – Thanks for the lovely story/memories. That’s wonderful. I’m sorry he passed away, but in many ways, he’s with you still each time you cook green chile stew.
December 6th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
That stew looks really tasty! Just look at all of that snow!
December 8th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Kevin – thanks! I love all of that snow :)
July 5th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Susy – If you need a substitute, choose Anaheim over Poblano peppers. Anaheim chiles a closer to the NuMex Big Jim chile grown in Hatch. Not the same, but closer.
Don’t forget to roast them either way!
November 23rd, 2012 at 8:29 am
Jen,
My brother and I smoked a turkey for Tday and it was great. saved the carcass, skin, wings and one leg, thigh for smoked green chili stew. Lucky for me we traveled to Albuquerque, NM for the week and I get to bring some real green chili back to Denver. (all, you can order NM green/red chili online, just google it)
Making the stew now, will use stock made from the smoked turkey (onion, carrot, celery, cilantro/sage stems and carcass). Will pick out the meat and discard the bones/vegetables. Add the meat and one onion to the stock, potatoes and a goodly amount of hatch green chili. Simmering until the potatoes are done. Then, serve with fresh cilantro and sour cream…
Back to Denver and will be using my Epic pass most every Friday through the season! Hope we get more snow soon!
Have a Merry Christmas and don’t break a leg!