Recipe(tried): Mom Unser's Ortega Green Chile Chili (re: Pork Butt Steaks)

Dear Kari,

This recipe comes from theInternational Chili Society Official Chili Cookbook, published in 1981 by St. Martin's Press. It calls for pork shoulder, but like you, I use pork butt because of its economy.

Mom Unser's Ortega Green Chile Chili

1 pound lean pork shoulder, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (again, I use pork butt)
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons lard (I use vegetable oil)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (16-ounce) can tomatoes, chopped
2 cans (7-ounce each) Ortega brand diced green chiles
1/4 teaspoon oregano
2 1/2 teaspoons salt (I cut this way down and let people season their own to taste)
2 cups water

Dredge meat in flour. Melt lard in large skillet. Brown meat thoroughly.

Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender.

Add remaining ingredients. (At this point I sometimes throw it in the crockpot on low so I don't have to watch it. I cook it for 5 to 6 hours on the low setting.) Simmer, covered, 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove cover. Simmer, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes to desired consistency.

The nice thing about recipes like this is you can adapt them to your own taste. My kids didn't like too many "chunks" in their food, so I used to make this with tomato puree instead of the chopped tomatoes. Now we're so used to it, we prefer it that way. I serve this with warm flour tortillas.