KATHY PITTS' NEW MEXICO CHILI

      Title: KATHY PITTS' NEW MEXICO CHILI
  Categories: Chili, Pork
       Yield: 1 Batch
  
  
   I don't have a real recipe for New Mexico-style chile,
   although I do make it occasionally when I manage to
   drag home more fresh Anaheim or Poblano chiles than I
   can dispose of otherwise.  (Kroger's sometimes has BIG
   bags of them for 99 cents a bag ;-)
   
   What I do is first roast the chiles (either in the
   broiler or -- better -- over charcoal).  The number of
   chiles I use depends on the size/heat of the chiles,
   and can range from 2-3 to 10 or more.  If the chiles
   are really hot (it happens sometimes, even with
   Anaheims), I'll also add 3-4 roasted green bell
   peppers to give the dish the required pepper taste
   without rendering it inedible by anyone without an
   asbestos esophagus.
   
   After the chiles have cooled a bit, I peel and seed
   them, and cut them into coarse dice.  I sometimes (not
   always) will also roast/peel 5-6 tomatoes to place in
   the chiles, but tomatoes are optional in this dish,
   and I usually don't use 'em.
   
   Next, cut up 3-4 pounds of lean boneless pork (beef is
   sometimes used, but isn't as good in this dish, IMHO,
   and I would imagine lamb would be very good here
   indeed).
   
   Coat the meat in seasoned flour, and brown it in hot
   lard.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Toss a
   couple of chopped onions into the pot, along with a
   clove or two of garlic.  When the onions are golden, I
   add enough flour to make a roux, and cook until the
   roux is light brown.
   
   I then add chicken broth to make a fairly thin gravy,
   the pork, chiles, tomatoes (if used), and season the
   dish with cumin and Mexican oregano.
   
   Simmer for a couple of hours, until the pork is tender
   and the flavors have blended.  The end dish should
   have a pronounced green chile/pepper flavor and be the
   consistancy of a thick stew.  It's very good by
   itself, or as a filling for burritos/soft tacos, and
   is wonderful reheated the next morning and served as a
   side dish with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Wes, for
   some bizarre reason, likes it over rice...
   
   Sorry for the inexact recipe/directions.  I learned to
   make this dish from an ex-neighbor who was or mixed
   Hispanic/Native American ancestry, and never QUITE got
   around to rendering her directions into a real recipe.
   (She served the dish with fry bread, and a pot of
   white beans on the side -- have no idea whether this
   was traditional or simply the way she liked it.)
   
   Kathy in Bryan, TX
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