Taking a lazy recipe and making it slightly less so - IP Pork Chili Verde

In the past I made pork chili verde in my instapot using the Serious Eats/J. Kenji Lopez-Alt recipe. It was really simple (minimally cut things - toss in the cooker, cook, remove meat, blend, add meat). However I felt the flavor suffered too much in the name of convenience.

I had some trimmings left from my St. Louis spares as well as a secret ingredient from the last of those cooks so I decided to give the dish another shot. This time I was going to add more flavor.

The easiest way was to brown the meat first - get it nice and crisp. That would not only add flavor but a nice bit of texture to the dish. The rest of the recipe was as written. Expect for the secret ingredient.

The veggies waiting for the meat to finish browning


The secret ingredient


The finished product


The dish did have more flavor this time around, but I think I should've done two versions (one PC the other the slow boat) and compared them. It still seems a little flat, but I guess what should I expect for a ~40 minute chili?

I did the meat this time, next time will be the meat and veg.

4 pounds (1.9kg) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
3/4 pound tomatillos (about 4 tomatillos; 350g), quartered, husks discarded
2/3 pound Poblano peppers (about 2 peppers; 300g), roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (see note)
6 ounces Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers (about 2 peppers; 170g), roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (see note)
2 serrano or jalapeño chilies, roughly chopped, stems discarded (see note)
8 ounces white onion (about 1 medium; 225g), roughly chopped
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon (15g) whole cumin seed, toasted and ground
Kosher salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and fine stems (about 1/2 ounce; 15g), plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon (15ml) Asian fish sauce, such as Red Boat
Fresh corn tortillas and lime wedges, for serving
Directions


Directions:

1. In a pressure cooker, combine pork, tomatillos, Poblano peppers, Anaheim peppers, serrano peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and a big pinch of salt. Heat over high heat until gently sizzling, then seal pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 30 minutes. Release pressure.

2. Using tongs, transfer pork pieces to a bowl and set aside. Add cilantro and fish sauce to remaining contents of pressure cooker. Blend with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender, then season to taste with salt. Return pork to sauce and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately with tortillas and lime wedges.

Source: Serious Eats/J.Kenji Lopez-Alt

I'd recommend searing off at least the pork and perhaps roasting the veg (if you want to take a little longer). I fortified this batch with my secret ingredient (pork jello - the collagen/flavor rich liquid that came off a rack of ribs I did SV).