Chicken Chile Verde (Pressure Cooker)

Ingredients

• 3.5-4.0 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 1 lb poblano peppers, roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (about 3 peppers)
• 12 oz tomatillos, husks discarded, quartered (about 6-8 tomatillos)
• 10 oz white onion, roughly chopped (about 1 medium)
• 6 oz Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers, roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (about 2 peppers)
• 2 Serrano or jalapeño peppers, roughly chopped, stems discarded - OPTIONAL
• 6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tbsp whole cumin seeds, toasted and ground (ground also fine)
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and fine stems
• 1 tsp Asian fish sauce, such as Red Boat - OPTIONAL
• 2 limes, juiced, plus more for garnish
• Fresh corn tortillas and avocados, for serving

Equipment

• Electric or stovetop pressure cooker
• Immersion blender or countertop blender
• 2-quart Pyrex or similar heat-proof vessel

Instructions

1. Toast cumin seeds on stovetop until color just starts to change. Remove from heat and grind in mortar until a powder. Set aside.
2. Trim excess fat/skin from chicken. Season heavily with kosher salt and toss with ground cumin.
3. Turn on saute mode (high) in pressure cooker. Start prepping vegetables and drop in cooker as they are chopped - no oil needed.
4. Add seasoned chicken to pressure cooker after all vegetables have been added. Mix to distribute throughout chopped vegetables.
5. Switch cooking mode to pressure cook (high). Add one more big pinch of kosher salt then seal the pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 15 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally as time permits (see notes).
6. After pressure has dropped (about 20 minutes), open the lid and transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl (tongs ideal) and set aside.
7. To have greater control over final sauce consistency, drain a “significant amount” (like, more than you’d think) of standing liquid into a 2-qt Pyrex, or similar, to reserve and add back later if needed.
8. Roughly chop the cilantro to avoid it getting caught in blades. Add chopped cilantro, fish sauce, and juice of 2 limes to the remaining contents of the pressure cooker. Blend with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender until mostly uniform and season to taste with salt. If sauce is too thick, add back some of reserved cooking liquid until desired consistency - prefer more like a puree than a soup.
9. Remove chicken from bones and shred meat to desired size. Return the chicken to the sauce, discarding the skin and bones.
10. Transfer finished product to bowl(s) and serve immediately with tortillas, avocado slices, and extra lime wedges.

Notes

• Recipe cook time attempts to capture time it takes to come up to pressure and naturally release, which can add 15-20 minutes on both ends. Cooking the vegetables as you prep them helps reduce this.
• You can release pressure manually if pressed for time, but meat is significantly more tender with additional cook time during natural release if you can afford it.
• I altered the original to drain off most of the cooking liquid since the resulting sauce is too runny without it, IMO. I know the amount to drain off isn’t precise, so safer to drain “too much” and just add back.
• You can cook the chicken legs whole or split them into thigh and drumsticks if easier to fit in cooker.
• Original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. I am conservative at 1 teaspoon. Feel free to bump it up.
• I’ll sometimes add 2 jalepeños for flavor, but will essentially fillet it so there’s no heat for the kids.
• This whole recipe costs about $27 at La Super Favorita and feeds five people for two days