Colorado Hatch Green Chili Sauce
Five or six good sized hatch green chilies\
Two or three red Fresno peppers (just for color and extra flavor).
A small pre-cooked pork chop (a day or two in advance, I'll have Joe grill some pork chops, and I'll save a small one back for this recipe)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 can chicken broth
Big bowl of ice water
First, chop (or food process) the pork chop into tiny pieces.
Next, we're going to char the chilies. You can do this on a sheet pan under the broiler (which until this year I've always done) or you can char them right on your gas cooktop. Yay!, I have a gas stove so I tried it - sooooo easy. Just make sure you have the vent/fan on, or at least the number to the fire department.
Whichever method you choose, leave the peppers on (or under) the heat until they're bubbly, charred, soft, and sizzling.
As you take them off the fire, plunge them into a bowl filled with ice water. The cold shrinks up the pepper from the skin and makes them really easy to peel...and you won't have to visit the burn unit.
Peel the peppers with your fingers, leaving some of the char - for that good smoky flavor. Cut off the tops and discard with most of the seeds. The more seeds you leave, the hotter the final product. Slice up the peppers and finely chop them; add them to the pork chop.
Now it's time for the roux.
Place the butter and the flour in the pot and melt/mix on medium high heat. Once all the butter has melted and mixed with the flour, slowly pour in the chicken broth while constantly stirring. Patience. Patience. The magic happens at about the 4-5 minute mark; the sauce begins to thicken. When it's a lot like pancake batter, dump the chilies and pork chop into the pot and turn down the heat. Mix everything together and let it cook down for about 20 minutes.
Once it's all heated through, bubbling and driving you mad with the aroma, you can remove from heat and let cool. I served this with Mexican breaded chicken tenders and fresh sliced tomatoes. Store in the fridge - if you have any leftovers.
