It may have been better had I taken a picture of the finished dish, but by that point, all I could do was sit down. The Instant Pot made its first appearance in a really long time for a 3.5 lb. heritage pork shoulder (which was at least 3/4 lb. of fat) that I butchered up (saving about 3/4 lb. of pork for another dish). Big chunks. And 1/2 lb. of @rancho_gordo's Mantequilla beans soaked/brined for about 4 hours. And the last jug of 3 jugs of this stuff (having already used both the jug of medium and jug of hot purchased a few months ago).
Green chile stew in New Mexican cooking is basically pork braised in roasted green chile with other stuff (not beans, but hey), and it's pretty awesome. I didn't have all the other stuff, but diced up some onion, shallot, garlic, celery and carrot in lieu of. Also toasted some cumin and coriander and crushed them in a mortar. Browned the pork, removed, threw in the mirepoix to soften, added back the pork, spices (Mexican oregano and bay leaves in addition to the cumin and coriander), about 1/3 of this jug of roasted chiles and a cup of chicken stock. Cooked it all for that 36 minutes and let it natural release. Tasted, salted and smashed a few beans right in the pot to thicken a bit - it was not too soupy, but a little thicker was just right. Holy shit - it was great! I don't think these beans have ever been more perfectly cooked (at least not by me) and flavored. The pork was just at the point where it was shreddable, but not shredded. Holy shit - it was great! Over rice - roasted broccoli alongside.
It's just coming into chile season in New Mexico, by which I mean everywhere you go, you smell chiles roasting. It's like driving through Gilroy during garlic season; you can't escape the smell. And the smell is wonderful. If I had more freezer room, I'd stock the frozen, diced chiles, but these shelf stable ones work surprisingly well. I also keep a pound or two of the dried reds (which aren't roasted, but still taste smokey); they're the base for many other classic New Mexican dishes - chile colorado/carne adovada being my favorites. And when you can't make up your mind what sauce you want on your enchiladas or whatever it is you're having - ask for Christmas - and get both!
For reds, I like this brand...
