Pork and Poblano Stew

Hearty fall stew with pork shoulder, roasted poblano chiles, chipotle, onions, sweet potatoes, and corn.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated May 23, 2022
Elise Bauer
Pork and Poblano Stew
Elise Bauer

Every time I look at a picture of this pork and poblano stew I want to eat it all over again. This is one of those lick-every-last-drop stews, so good!

Early fall is peak chile season, and we have plenty of poblanos in the garden. Every few days I pick a few chiles, char them over direct flame on the gas stove, let them steam a bit in their own heat, and then scrape off the char.

Usually we eat them right away, sometimes just with some olive oil and salt drizzled over, or wrapped in a warmed corn tortilla with a little cheese.

Pork and Poblano Stew
Elise Bauer

This time though, we decided to make pork stew with the poblanos, a stew reminiscent of pozole, but with corn and sweet potatoes instead of hominy.

Swirling in a spoonful of Mexican crema or sour cream right before serving makes the stew just lightly creamy and provides a soothing balance to the mildly spicy chiles.

Pork and Poblano Stew

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings 8 servings

Toasted shelled pumpkin seeds make a nice accent to this hearty stew. Use them if you have them, if not, don't worry, the stew will not suffer from their absence.

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 poblano chile peppers (about 3/4 pound)

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces

  • Salt

  • 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

  • 1 teaspoon cumin

  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced

  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano

  • 1 quart chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free option)

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn (no need to defrost if frozen)

  • 1 large (about 1/2 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes)

  • Sour cream

  • Cilantro

  • Toasted shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas), optional

Method

  1. Char, peel, and chop the poblano chiles:

    Char the chile peppers on all sides, directly over a gas flame, or broil, turning every minute or so until the chiles are blackened on all sides.

    pork-poblano-soup-method-1
    Elise Bauer
    pork-poblano-soup-method-2
    Elise Bauer

    Place in a bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let sit for 10 minutes or so, then rub off the blackened charred skin.

    Cut away and discard the stem, seeds, and internal veins. Roughly chop the chiles into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Set aside.

  2. Sear the cubed pork:

    Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. Pat dry the pork pieces with a paper towel and brown them, working in batches as to not crowd the pan. Sprinkle salt generously over the pork while they brown.

    pork-poblano-soup-method-3
    Elise Bauer
    pork-poblano-soup-method-4
    Elise Bauer
  3. Sauté the onions and garlic:

    Remove the pork from the pan and set aside. Add the chopped onion and cumin to the pan and cook about 5 minutes, until translucent.

    Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan while the onions cook. Add garlic and cook for a minute more.

    pork-poblano-soup-method-5
    Elise Bauer
  4. Add the chipotle, poblanos, pork, chicken stock and oregano, simmer:

    Add the chopped chipotle to the onions and garlic. Return the browned pork to the pan. Add the chopped poblano chiles to the pan. Add the chicken stock and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 1 hour.

    pork-poblano-soup-method-6
    Elise Bauer
    pork-poblano-soup-method-7
    Elise Bauer
  5. Add sweet potato, corn:

    After an hour, add the diced sweet potato and corn to the stew. Cook for another half hour to 45 minutes, until the pork is tender and the sweet potatoes are cooked through.

    To serve, spoon out the stew into bowls. Swirl in a spoonful of sour cream to each bowl. Top with chopped fresh cilantro and toasted shelled pumpkin seeds.

Links:

Braised Pork Poblano in Cream Sauce from Constables' Larder

Roasted Poblanos Stuffed with Pulled Pork from I Breathe I'm Hungry

Pork and Poblano Stew
Elise Bauer
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
580 Calories
35g Fat
28g Carbs
39g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 580
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g 45%
Saturated Fat 12g 61%
Cholesterol 132mg 44%
Sodium 358mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 28g 10%
Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 39g
Vitamin C 47mg 233%
Calcium 84mg 6%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 1038mg 22%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.