Storing chili/chile verde

[Shel_B]

At the end of this month there will be two dinners that I'll be preparing.  One is a potluck and the other, five days later, is dinner at home with a couple of friends.  I was thinking of making a double/triple batch of my chile verde, and am wondering the best way to store the stew for the five-six days necessary.

 

I know stews often are better after a day or so, but what about after five or six days?  If I freeze the second batch, how might that effect the texture of the meat. I've never stored my chile verde for more than a day.

 

I am hoping that I can just store the second batch in the fridge in a covered bowl for five days or so.  That would make my life very much easier.

 

Thoughts?

[Shelby]

I freeze my chili verde all the time.  It doesn't compromise anything IMO.  

 

Maybe if it were just my husband and I, I would reheat something that's been in the fridge for 6 days, but.....not for guests....but that's just me.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Shelby (log)

[Shel_B]

I freeze my chili verde all the time.  It doesn't compromise anything IMO.  

 

Maybe if it were just my husband and I, I would reheat something that's been in the fridge for 6 days, but.....not for guests....but that's just me.

 

Hi, Shelby - if you'd eat it why not serve it to your guests?

[Shelby]

Hi, Shelby - if you'd eat it why not serve it to your guests?

I'd risk my health and my husband has a stomach made of iron...but I would never want to give anyone else any issues with their stomachs.

[rotuts]

should you choose to freeze, just get a thick Zip or not and get all the air out of the bag first.

[Lisa Shock]

How you handle it depends on what you put in it, IMO. I like to put vegetables, like potato cubes, in mine and they, potatoes especially, don't freeze well. I'd start by making a base chile with your meat, the chiles and stock, then split that in half, freeze half and add vegetables to the batch being served first. Then, I'd thaw the second half on the day of the second event, and add the veggies as it's heating up. -In order, carrots take longer to cook than say, corn kernels which only need to be warmed through.

[Shel_B]

How you handle it depends on what you put in it, IMO. I like to put vegetables, like potato cubes, in mine and they, potatoes especially, don't freeze well. I'd start by making a base chile with your meat, the chiles and stock, then split that in half, freeze half and add vegetables to the batch being served first. Then, I'd thaw the second half on the day of the second event, and add the veggies as it's heating up. -In order, carrots take longer to cook than say, corn kernels which only need to be warmed through.

 

You've provided some "food for thought."  There are no vegetables other than peppers and tomatillos in my chile verde,

[Lisa Shock]

Well, that should freeze just fine.

 

That said, try tossing a cup of frozen corn kernels in (or in the summer, fresh corn straight off the cob), a little brunoise carrot for color, and maybe some finely diced celery to amp up the 'green' flavor. And, of course, diced waxy potatoes like reds are very good too.

[andiesenji]

I make and freeze the sauce and meat separately - my tomatillo green sauce freezes beautifully - I usually combine it with cooked chicken or pork and "finish"  after thawing by simmering over low heat for an hour or so to combine and develop the flavor. 

 

People love it, I'm often asked for my recipe (including at an eGullet potluck years ago) which is one of the reasons I put it on my blog.

 

I make the sauce in big batches and freeze in portions appropriate for serving or adding to dishes.

[Jaymes]

Although it probably doesn't affect the "freezing" issue, think we might be talking about two different kinds of Green Chile Stew - with and without tomatillos.

I grew up with New Mexico-style, which, in my experience anyway, typically is made with green chiles - lots and lots of green chiles (and potatoes too BTW) - but no tomatillos.

Although, as I say, regarding freezing, the issues are probably the same.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Jaymes (log)

[Jaymes]

Although it probably doesn't affect the "freezing" issue, think we might be talking about two different kinds of Green Chile Stew - with and without tomatillos.

I grew up with New Mexico-style, which, in my experience anyway, typically is made with green chiles - lots and lots of green chiles (and potatoes too BTW) - but no tomatillos.

Although, as I say, regarding freezing, the issues are probably the same.

 

Somehow feel the need to clarify...

 

Although I lived for years in New Mexico, I've also lived in southern Arizona, and traveled extensively throughout Mexico.  Chile Verde, the version without tomatillos, is not found just in New Mexico, which I fear I kind of implied.  I've also encountered it in most of the US Southwest, as well as throughout northern Mexico, in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, etc.  In many ways, the cuisine of this arid part of Mexico differs greatly from what we think of as the "typical" Mexican foods that are more common  farther south.