Every fall, the smell of roasting chiles drifts across Colorado. This year, we built a chili around it.
Milberger Farms’ Pueblo chiles are the backbone: meaty, thick-walled, and roasted until smoky. Add River Bear smoked turkey and bacon, and roasted Star Farms butternut, and you have a green chili that’s built from Colorado farms and food makers from start to finish.
Who’s in the Pot?
- Milberger Farms — Pueblo green chiles, frozen for year-round consistency.
- River Bear — smoked turkey and sliced bacon for smoke and body.
- Golden Organics — organic sunflower oil to start the pot.
- Star Farms — butternut squash, roasted and folded in.
- Rice’s Lucky Clover — Colorado honey to round out the heat.
- Royal Crest — sour cream to cool it down.
- Infinite Harvest — micro cilantro to finish.
The Chef’s Playbook
No recipe here — just the building blocks. Take them and make the bowl your own.
- Fat and smoke: Render River Bear bacon (#23052) in Golden Organics sunflower oil (#19869) and keep the fat for everything that follows.
- Green chile: Milberger roasted Pueblo (#28422) is the base.
- Protein: River Bear smoked turkey (#22928), pulled or diced. It’s already smoked, so it only needs time in the pot to soak up the chile.
- Body: Roast Star Farms butternut (#36914) on its own until caramelized before folding it in.
- Balance and finish: A spoonful of Rice’s Lucky Clover honey (#35848) tames the heat. Top with Royal Crest sour cream (#08134) and Infinite Harvest micro cilantro (#20679).
One Pot, Five Menu Ideas
- Smothered burrito: The Colorado classic. Wrap fillings in a Raquelitas red chile flour tortilla (#35178) and smother it in green chili.
- Green chile nachos: Raquelitas cantina chips (#35174), chili, sour cream, and sliced fresh Pueblo.
- Cornbread skillet: Bow & Arrow cornmeal (#35584) baked in cast iron and topped with chili.
- Green chili and grits: Ladle it over Bow & Arrow white grits (#28121) for brunch.
- Vegetarian version: Skip the meat, use Hazel Dell shiitakes (#19845) and extra butternut for body, and start the pot in sunflower oil.
Put it on your menu
Every item above is orderable through What Chefs Want’s Local Food Connection program. Open Cut+Dry, go to Local Produce under Browse Catalog, or filter by region to find local items. Need a large or standing order? Talk with your sales rep to make sure stock is set aside.
