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Total Time
35 minutes
If you are looking for a sign to make a meaty, cheesy, saucy skillet dip for dinner, this is it. Great when eaten with tortilla chips but just as great scooped into a bowl and devoured with a spoon, this one-pan dish comes together in just over 30 minutes. Bright and acidic tomatillos are the star here; often sold in their papery husks, this tart fruit softens and gets sweeter as it cooks, adding freshness to the otherwise rich and oozy skillet (thank you, melty pepper Jack cheese). Pork is a natural friend to green chiles and cumin, but feel free to use any ground meat—or meat substitute—you have on hand. If the speed at which the contents of this skillet disappeared in the test kitchen is any indication, you won’t have to worry about leftovers.
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What you’ll need
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Box Grater
$13 At Amazon
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Cast Iron Skillet
$30 At Amazon
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Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
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Slotted Spoon
$13 $10 At Amazon
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Chef’s Knife
$115 At Hedley & Bennett
Ingredients
4 servings
Step 1
Place1 lb. ground porkin a medium bowl and sprinkle with1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt,1 tsp. ground cumin, and1 tsp. smoked paprika. Using your hands, gently mix to incorporate.
Step 2
Heat2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oilin a large skillet over medium-high. Cook pork mixture, undisturbed, until browned and beginning to crisp underneath, about 3 minutes. Break up meat into ½" pieces with a wooden spoon and continue to cook, stirring often, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a small bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving fat behind; set aside.
Step 3
Add1 small red onion, thinly sliced, and4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced,to same skillet; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is slightly softened and garlic is starting to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Add1 large poblano chile, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced, and3 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, coarsely chopped; cook, stirring occasionally, until poblano is golden in spots, about 1 minute. Addtwo 4-oz. cans diced green chilesand 1 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until almost all liquid is evaporated and tomatillos are mostly softened, 7–9 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 4
Heat broiler. Add reserved pork mixture to skillet and stir to combine. Top evenly with8 oz. pepper Jack cheese, coarsely grated. Broil until cheese is melted and starting to blister in spots, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Step 5
Top withcilantro leaves with tender stems. Serve withtortilla chips.
Leave a Review
Reviews (2)
Back to TopSuper tasty, would probably make again, with some modifications. When you add the green chilis near the end of cooking, the recipe says to add a cup of water, which was way too much. I had to boil it for about 15 minutes to cook most of the water off and the peppers, onions, and tomatillos were mushy by that point. Probably needed 1/4 to 1/2 cup at most. It was also pretty oily by the end since some of the oil separated from the cheese during broiling. I would cut down the oil at the beginning and/or drain some of the pork fat off before cooking the veggies.
Anonymous
Boston, MA
9/11/2023
