catnip and coffee

Well, I’ve been working on perfecting my chili recipe for some time now, and we tested the latest incarnation on dinner guests last night. I think it’s okay now!

I doubled this recipe and it made way more than I needed but I was able to send our friends home with some and still have leftovers for us. If you’re going to spend the time on it you might as well make lots right?! Yeah, in order to double the recipe, I did have to finally break down and get myself a large, 6 quart crockpot. And it’s red - oh so cute!

Anyway, it’s long but here is the recipe:

Crockpot Spicy Pork Chili

This chili does take a little time (so worth it), but not a lot of effort. It’s a pretty fluid recipe, meaning it’s never really the same twice if you do it right!

Day one ingredients:

Pork roast, whatever cut you like, I use a boneless loin, about 2 lbs.

1 bottle or can of beer, your choice

Roasting bag or crockpot

Hot sauce

Chili powder

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A day ahead of when you want to serve the chili, put the roast and the beer in the oven bag and follow the directions – usually 325 for 1 and ¼ hour for a 2 lb roast.

If you don’t have or don’t want to use the oven bag, (though I love it for easy cleanup,) you can cook the roast in the beer in your crockpot: chunk it up and cook on high for 2-3 hours, stirring once or twice.

After the roast is cooked and cooled, shred or cube it into tiny pieces and immerse it back into the cooking liquid. Add some hot sauce and some chili powder to your liking and let set overnight in the refrigerator. The meat will soak all the liquid back up. If it needs a little more liquid you can add another half a beer or so.

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Day two, now for the rest of the chili ingredients:

2 cans black beans, one rinsed and drained, one not

1 can small red beans, rinsed and drained

16 oz jar basic salsa, pick your own heat, I use medium. (or 12oz can tomato sauce, or diced tomatoes, plus chop your own green peppers, onions, jalapenos etc. I think it’s easier to use the salsa and no one will ever know.)

1 small onion, minced fine

3-4 cloves garlic, minced fine, or 1 heaping tbsp. pre-minced garlic, (do not use dry garlic powder if you can help it.)

big handful of fresh cilantro, chopped fine

packet of dry chili seasoning, taco seasoning, whatever you have, (or lots of extra chili powder)

at least a couple tbsp of cumin, more if you love it like I do (I use it by the handful!)

Don’t be afraid of the spices: black pepper, cayenne pepper if you like spicy, smoky paprika, sage, ground coriander seed.

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6 hours before serving time, (leave the pork alone!) start with a clean crockpot and throw in the drained and rinsed beans, salsa, extra onion, garlic, cilantro, and all the seasonings and spices. Lots and lots of spices!

Make sure your crockpot is large enough that it is only half – 2/3rds full at this point. You need room for the meat.

Let this cook on high, covered, stirring occasionally for four hours.

2 hours before serving time, add the pork, if there is a lot of liquid left you can dump it or add it depending on how thick you like your chili. Let this get hot again, half and hour or so, and then turn down to low. If it seems too watery you can leave the cover off for the last hour so it can thicken up. Keep stirring occasionally.

Serve with any favorite toppings: shredded cheddar, chopped green onions, sour cream.

If you want to print it, here it is in pdf:

2-day-spicy-pork-chili.pdf

If you try it, let me know what you think!