This Instant Pot Chile Pork Stew was inspired by a restaurant that I love to visit any time I’m in Chicago.
The Inspiration
Chef Rick Bayless is an Icon in Mexican cooking. I grew up watching him on TV and couldn’t wait to visit one of his restaurants. So, my first time in Chicago, not having a budget for his signature Frontera Grill, I eagerly visited his fast casual outpost, XOCO. He offers tortas and tacos, but I went for one of his caldos, a hot, complex, murky, magical bowl of soup. I can’t recall the exact caldo that I ordered, but I do remember it had fork tender meat. It had bright red broth with the perfect balance of spice and acid and that hit of fat on the finish that kept me going back to the bowl to the very last slurp.
I wanted to create a soup, or stew rather, inspired by Chef Bayless’ caldos but with easy to find ingredients and done in an hour in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. This is that soup.
One Pot Meal
The best part is that it is truly a one-pot meal. Dump everything in, set the timer and don’t forget the condiments for when it’s ready. To me, garnishing this with red onion, cotija and cilantro is mandatory. They add additional texture and round out the full flavor profile of this meal in a bowl.
You’ll know when the stew is done because you’ll be able to pull the cuts of pork apart easily, but you also don’t want them to turn to mush. So, don’t let this go too long thinking that longer is better. There’s a sweet spot so that the meat pulls apart, but still has enough chew to it.
Slow Cooker?
Don’t have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker? This can be done in a Slow Cooker, too. Just set it on low for 8 hours or high for 6.
I have a similar Mexican Pork Stew recipe that you might also like on my other site, The Dinner Bell.
The Recipe
[tasty-recipe id=”7050″]
