Hatch Chile Week - Day Four: Beer Braised Pork Chops and Hatch Chile Stuffing

Perfecting the spelling of 'Chile' happened in 1983. Senator Pete Dominici made it official by putting it in Congressional Record. He rose and addresses the United States Senate, declaring that even though the word was chili in the dictionary , New Mexicans refuse to spell it the way the rest of America does, and so, he said, he stood before the full Senate and with the backing of my New Mexican Constituents state unequivocally that the dictionary is wrong. Then, after extolling the virtues of New Mexico chile, he told his colleagues, Hospitable as we are to all visitors, we have chile that is mild enough to make a baby coo in delight, or hot enough to make even the strongest constitutions perspire in a sensual experience of both pleasure and pain. He ended by saying, I could go on and on about the wonders of red and green chile, but in reality, all I wanted to do was inform Congress on the correct way to spell the word. A highly interesting tidbit found on the Chile Traditions Website.

So being one who might occasionally mix-up the spelling of Chile/Chili I wanted to gather a bit of intel on how it all works and what the 'proper' way to spell Chile is! Today's chile recipe is a permutation of a food near and dear to my heart, stuffing! It's funny, as a kid I thought stuffing was reserved for holidays and really felt (yup I'm about to offend the good cooks of my family) that no matter who made it, it really was just smushy bread that was heated up a few too many times....a very scientific opinion, huh? Well that's all changed, I'm a convert, of course it has to be good stuffing, but I can assure you, this recipe is! It's a little bit of work for a week night because it requires fresh cornbread but it's so worth it, I swear.

1 8x8 Pan of Fresh Cornbread (mix or from scratch), Crumbled
2 Cups Old Bread, Crumbed
3 Pieces Raw, Chopped Bacon
1/4 Cup Sweet Onion
1/2 Tsp Roasted, Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
1 Chopped Green Apple
3/4 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Tsp Ground Sage
1 Tsp Ground Thyme
2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Chopped, Seeded and Rinsed Hatch Chiles

1. Heat bacon along with onion and garlic in a large skillet until bacon is beginning to crisp.
2. Add green apple and chiles to the mix, cook until apple begins to get tender (appx 5 minutes)
3. Add raisins, chicken broth, sage, thyme, salt, pepper and bread crumbs (both corn and regular).
4. Allow to cook until mixture begins to get crispy, stir so that it crisps evenly.


Now, while you've got your stuffing going (actually before you start it), you'll want to find a tasty protein to go with...although that stuffing is tasty on it's own! I choose some delicious, thick-cut bone-in pork chops that were on sale at the market. To me pork chops are so tasty with a sweet-ish side/sauce and this stuffing made the perfect combination of sweet/spicy and pork!

Shiner Bock Braised Pork Chops

1 12oz Bottle Shiner Bock Hefewisen
1 Tbsp Honey
1/3 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Essence of Emeril*
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar

1. Mix Flour with ginger, salt, pepper and Essence of Emeril. Dredge pork chops in flour mixture.
2. Heat a large skillet to medium-high (with 1 Tbsp Olive Oil in it). Once skillet is hot, brown pork chops on both sides.
3. In a bowl, mix beer, cider vinegar and honey.
4. After pork chops are browned, pour beer mixture into the skillet, braise for 1 hour, turn once during the process.



*Another goodie from Foodbuzz!