Ben's Famous New Mexican Pork Red Chile

[pinback]

Sure, when you hear "New Mexican cuisine", you think of green chile. But did you know that New Mexico is also famous for a chile of a different color? Namely "red"? Well they are! In fact, at any NM restaurant, you're likely to be asked the timeless question, "red or green?" after ordering your entree! You can have either one, but you're damn sure gonna pick one, or they'll throw your fat black ass outta there!

I live in Washington state now, which apparently has STRICT GOVERNMENTAL ORDERS to not sell any NM green chiles anywhere within state borders, which as far as I'm concerned, makes Washington state the lowest, most worthless of all the... what are there, like sixty at this point? Whatever, however many states there are, this is the worst, for this very reason.

I also had a fuckball of a time finding red chile, too, but lucked into the one grocery store in the entire Pacific Northwest that actually carried little bags of New Mexican ground red chile. And on the back of the bags was a recipe! A recipe which I followed almost exactly, except with a couple of very small modifications, resulting in:

Ben's Famous New Mexican Pork Red Chile, Or "Red Chile With Chunks Of Pork Simmered Therein"

Are you ready? Let's begin!

INGREDIENTS
----------------
- 1/2 cup ground NM red chile. Please do not fuck around here. Make sure it's not "chili powder" or some other nondescript "ground chile" you're talking about here. Make sure it's directly from NM, because NM red chiles have an extremely distinct, smoky, earthy flavor which cannot be replicated or substituted for by other ground chile products. Seriously. Do not fuck around. Or I will cut you.

- 1 lb pork shoulder, or other pork... product, cut into 1/2-inch or perhaps slightly larger, cubes.

- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2+ cups water
- Some salt

INSTRUCTIONS
----------------
Heat up oil in a big saucepan!
Put pork chunks and flour in the oil, and brown it!
Put garlic, red chile, and salt to taste in there, and stir well for a minute!
Add 2 cups water, or a little more, to cover all the porks!
Simmer, uncovered, for an hour and a half to two hours or so until the sauce has thickened to a delightful consistency, and the whole dish takes on this deep, silky, vibrant red color that you didn't know was even possible!

Now it is done! Now you can do stuff with it. What I did with it was: Heated up a flour tortilla, put some of the pork red chile in there, topped with some grated cheese, and then ATE THAT SHIT, and let me tell you, that's some otherworldly fantastic shit there. NM food is the greatest.

Anyway, there you go. I'MA CUT YOU

[Tdarcos]

Sure, when you hear "New Mexican cuisine", you think of green chile.

No, I'd think of a restaurant in Albuquerque, or, as it turned out, a nice one in Las Cruces, a town I stayed in once about 30 years ago.

But did you know that New Mexico is also famous for a chile of a different color? Namely "red"? Well they are! In fact, at any NM restaurant, you're likely to be asked the timeless question, "red or green?" after ordering your entree! You can have either one, but you're damn sure gonna pick one, or they'll throw your fat black ass outta there!

Waitress: As for your entree, red or green?
Customer: Well, since I ordered a baked potato with sour cream, I hope the potato is yellow or red, and the chives are green! If they're opposite I'm not going to be happy!

I live in Washington state now, which apparently has STRICT GOVERNMENTAL ORDERS to not sell any NM green chiles anywhere within state borders,

Did you ask the restaurant or store why? There just might be no call for them. Did you ask if they can order them? California and Arizona have very strict agricultural controls and plants and produce being imported require state inspection. It is entirely possible Washington might have something similar for some items.

Or it may be they don't know there's a demand. There is a new, very hot chile, I think it's called Bhovat, it's from India, I think, and where a jalpeńo is like 6,000 Scoville Units, the Bhovat is around 1,000,000. So obviously it's not going to be available a lot of places. And if they do know about it, maybe they either think the New Mexico chile is too hot or not hot enough. Or they don't know about it until someone asks for it.

which as far as I'm concerned, makes Washington state the lowest, most worthless of all the... what are there, like sixty at this point? Whatever, however many states there are, this is the worst, for this very reason.

And for your information the United States has 46 States called "state," 4 states called "commonwealth," 3 territories called "territory," one territory called "district," and one territory called "commonwealth".

[pinback]

Sigh.

No, I'd think of a restaurant in Albuquerque

Sigh...

Customer: Well, since I ordered a baked potato with sour cream, I hope the potato is yellow or red, and the chives are green!

....SIIGHhhhhh...

Did you ask the restaurant or store why?

No.

Did you ask if they can order them?

No.

There is a new, very hot chile, I think it's called Bhovat

Bhut Jolokia

And for your information the United States has 46 States called "state," 4 states called "commonwealth," 3 territories called "territory," one territory called "district," and one territory called "commonwealth".

...SIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHHHHHHhhhHhhhhh........

So tired, now.

So very tired.

[Realitycheck]

Did you ask the restaurant or store why? There just might be no call for them. Did you ask if they can order them? California and Arizona have very strict agricultural controls and plants and produce being imported require state inspection. It is entirely possible Washington might have something similar for some items.

Or it may be they don't know there's a demand. There is a new, very hot chile, I think it's called Bhovat, it's from India, I think, and where a jalpeńo is like 6,000 Scoville Units, the Bhovat is around 1,000,000. So obviously it's not going to be available a lot of places. And if they do know about it, maybe they either think the New Mexico chile is too hot or not hot enough. Or they don't know about it until someone asks for it.

The reality is that people in Washington state don't know anything about what is good to eat. Period. Most restaurants suck and even the uber expensive grocery stores don't have the selection of a medium sized wegmans.

[pinback]

The reality is that people in Washington state don't know anything about what is good to eat. Period. Most restaurants suck and even the uber expensive grocery stores don't have the selection of a medium sized wegmans.

This is hard to argue with. I have never before seen as many:

1. Grocery stores that charge almost twice what everyone else in the country pays, including Los Angeles.

2. Grocery stores that don't have what you want.

3. Restaurants with only one person working there, so it becomes an all-day ordeal.

4. Restaurants that ain't any good.

The northwest prides itself on an abundance of fresh seafood and only the ripest of fruits, and yet these items STILL cost more than what everyone else in the country has to pay, AND the fruits I've seen so far are all imported from California (and suck).

Jonsey and I used to be fond of saying how Colorado was a food nightmare, but friend (I'm talking to him personally now, so you all can leave) there is no comparison. In the entire state of Washington, there's nothing as satisfying as a tub of Santiago's, nothing as delicious as a Boulevard Pizza Kitchen pie.

Very sad. Very very sad. That's why there are so many suicides up here, I think.

[Flack]

In Spokane, I used to eat at a place called "Pete's Pizza - The Calzone King" a couple of times a month. It was the best pizza (and calzone) I had the entire time I lived in Washington.

http://petesspokane.com

The drive from Spokane to Seattle (assuming fair weather) was about four hours. I'd say it's worth it, if you're bored and hungry for great pizza some weekend.

The only restaurant I can recommend near SeaTac would be Khan's Mongolian Grill. The last time I ate there I thought the food was really great. Then again, the last time I ate there was probably in 1999.

One thing I've always wanted to do was trace Sir Mix-A-Lot's path in "My Posse's on Broadway". I made it as far as finding Rainier and finding Dick's and Taco Bell. Of course that was before someone plotted out the route on Google Maps.

[Flack]

I will be driving through ABQ twice over the next week. Does anyone want/need any chili-related items from New Mexico picked up?

[CO]

One thing I've always wanted to do was trace Sir Mix-A-Lot's path in "My Posse's on Broadway". I made it as far as finding Rainier and finding Dick's and Taco Bell. Of course that was before someone plotted out the route on Google Maps.

Dicks is awful, it is not "where the cool hang out" or anything in the song. The fries are thin and undercooked, the burgers are small and less fresh tasting than McD's. You can't ask for something (like mayo) not to be on them and they are rude enough to say "we don't allow custom sandwich orders so we can provide instant service" and then they take forever to deliver the food anyway.

[Flack]

Maybe the cool hang out in the parking lot and bring their own food or something? We'll have to ask Sir Mix-A-Lot for clarification.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Flack, I don't need anything picked up. But get this shit: I am out of money for the month. I don't get paid till Wednesday. I am considering putting two fucking bushels of green chiles on my card to hold me over, so I can get them tomorrow because everyone was qqing about a shortage.

Fuck!

[CO]

We'll have to ask Sir Mix-A-Lot for clarification.

He really eats at the downtown Cheesecake Factory but that's not in any of his songs.

[Tdarcos]

There is a new, very hot chile, I think it's called Bhovat

Bhut Jolokia

Thank you, I stand corrected. (Or since I am wheelchair bound, perhaps I should say I sit corrected.)

[Flack]

Sure, when you hear "New Mexican cuisine", you think of green chile. But did you know that New Mexico is also famous for a chile of a different color? Namely "red"? Well they are! In fact, at any NM restaurant, you're likely to be asked the timeless question, "red or green?" after ordering your entree! You can have either one, but you're damn sure gonna pick one, or they'll throw your fat black ass outta there!

So I'm standing in line at the Flying Star Cafe in Albuquerque yesterday, waiting to order and meeting a couple of friends for dinner. I'm scanning the menu board and I see they have enchiladas. Underneath that it says, "red or green chile". Green chile is so delicious, but then I thought to myself, Pinback is going to give me shit if I don't try the red chile. So then I ask the question that probably only tourists ask: "can I get both?"

Indeed you can. Behold, Flying Star Cafe's chicken enchiladas with both green and red chile.



What can I say ... magnifique!

[Flack]

Just when I was starting to feel sad that I won't be having green chile for a while, Whataburger announced today that they now make a green chile burger.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/n ... ouble.html

[pinback]

Sure, when you hear "New Mexican cuisine", you think of green chile. But did you know that New Mexico is also famous for a chile of a different color? Namely "red"? Well they are! In fact, at any NM restaurant, you're likely to be asked the timeless question, "red or green?" after ordering your entree! You can have either one, but you're damn sure gonna pick one, or they'll throw your fat black ass outta there!

So I'm standing in line at the Flying Star Cafe in Albuquerque yesterday, waiting to order and meeting a couple of friends for dinner. I'm scanning the menu board and I see they have enchiladas. Underneath that it says, "red or green chile". Green chile is so delicious, but then I thought to myself, Pinback is going to give me shit if I don't try the red chile. So then I ask the question that probably only tourists ask: "can I get both?"

Indeed you can. Behold, Flying Star Cafe's chicken enchiladas with both green and red chile.



What can I say ... magnifique!

Holy shit. I just mouth-fucked your post, Flack.

[Flack-iPad]

So I'm in DC for a big working meeting this week, and I was talking to a friend of mine from Seattle last night, and haw haw ... no Whataburger for you.

When I get home I'll be sure to get one and video me eating it. I'm not sure if the awesomeness of a green chile burger will translate to pixels, but, for Pinback, I'm willing to try.

[Tdarcos]

So I'm in DC for a big working meeting this week, and I was talking to a friend of mine from Seattle last night, and haw haw ... no Whataburger for you.

When I get home I'll be sure to get one and video me eating it. I'm not sure if the awesomeness of a green chile burger will translate to pixels, but, for Pinback, I'm willing to try.

I don't know if you've left yet, but you might have asked me. The best burgers here are from Five Guys, they have a number of locations in the area including one in DC on 9th and H I think. Or it might be 9th and New York Ave. They also have one a block from the Navy Yard metro station.

[gsdgsd]

I got a big-ass bag of ground NM red chile for my birthday, so I'll finally be making this sometime soon. Can't wait!

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

It's time to bump Pinback's recipe threads!