Pueblo Green Chile Stew

This Pueblo green chile stew is as old-school New Mexican as it gets. Ten pounds of stewing beef simmered in water for four hours until it’s fall-apart tender, then finished with roasted green chiles and thickened with blue cornmeal. Six ingredients. No tomatoes, no potatoes, no beans cluttering things up. Just meat, chiles, and corn.

The four-hour simmer is doing everything here. That long, slow cook breaks down the tough connective tissue in stewing beef until the cubes practically shred when you stir them. The water transforms into a rich, beefy broth that needs nothing else for flavor. Don’t rush it.

Roasted and peeled green chiles added after the long simmer keep their character. They bring a vegetal heat and smokiness that defines New Mexican cooking. If you can get Hatch chiles, that’s the gold standard, but any roasted green chiles will work.

Blue cornmeal mixed into cold water and stirred in rapidly thickens the broth into something between a soup and a stew. It also adds a subtle, earthy corn flavor that’s been part of Pueblo cooking for centuries. Stir fast to avoid lumps, then let the final 45-minute simmer meld everything together.

This is a big-batch recipe meant for feeding a crowd or a family over several days.

Pro Tips

• Mix the cornmeal into cold water before adding to the hot stew. Adding dry cornmeal directly to hot liquid creates lumps you’ll never get rid of
• If you can’t find blue cornmeal, yellow cornmeal works as a thickener but loses that distinct Pueblo character
• The stew gets better overnight as the chiles and cornmeal continue to infuse. Make it a day ahead if you can
• Skim any fat that rises to the surface during the initial 4-hour simmer for a cleaner broth

Variations

• Add cubed potatoes with the green chiles for a heartier, more filling stew
• Use pork shoulder instead of beef for a traditional carne adovada-style flavor
• Stir in a handful of posole (hominy) during the last hour for more Pueblo tradition