*NOTE: This recipe recently won two awards at a workplace Chili Cook-off: The Meatiest and Chef's Choice!
With the
evenings getting cooler and the days getting shorter – it’s time for my
favorite sitting around the campfire meal, Chili. I was asked to come up with a new recipe for
you all that is a little unexpected.
This chili will be made with that other white meat, Pork.
It’s Dennis
again from the Indiana Department of Agriculture and it is time to share with
you what I hope will be a new and exciting chili recipe for you and your
family. I had such a great time bringing
you my Buffalo Chicken Chili; I jumped at the chance to do this again. I thought I would just make one of my
conventional chili recipes and substitute the meat with Pork. Then the more I thought this over, I decided
it would not be anything out of the ordinary.
I wanted something that makes one say, “Wow, I need your recipe!” So thinking it over and what my favorite Pork
dish is, I kept coming back to barbeque pulled pork. Then it hit me, of all the chili’s I have
ever eaten or made I never had what I am about to share with you – BBQ Pulled
Pork Chili.
I was
surprised to find a couple of recipes did exist for BBQ Pork Chili – but they
all seemed too simple and not very exciting.
So not to toot my own horn, but I feel I am a good cook and many nights I
just throw ingredients together and have
enjoyed many of these great creations for dinner. So why not do the same and create a new recipe
myself? So off to the store for some of the ingredients I don’t keep in stock.
After
returning from the grocery, I placed my Pork loin in a bowl to add my BBQ dry
rub to it. Then I placed it in a freezer
bag, squeezed out the air and placed it in the fridge overnight. You can use my dry rub (see recipe
following), your favorite dry rub or just soak the pork loin in your favorite
BBQ sauce.
The next
day, I took my seasoned Pork Loin out of the fridge and cut it into pieces and
browned it in the fry pan. Since I had so
much Pork, I decided to brown in two batches – the second batch I added the
tomato paste and let the paste brown to bring out its natural sugars. I placed the browned Pork into my Crockpot
remembering to first add the Crockpot liner bag. Note: If you have not used these liner bags,
you need to check them out. They make
cleanup so much easier. I then opened my
cans of tomatoes, adding those and my chopped ingredients to the pot. I added a whole bottle of my favorite BBQ
sauce, Sweet Baby Rays Honey and Chipotle BBQ.
Now came my experimentation with the recipe. I opened up my spice cabinet and went to
work. As you can see, I stayed with the
normal chili style spices and I think with the spices in the canned tomatoes it
all works.
I then added
a spicy vegetable juice to fill the pot, put on the lid and set on High for 4
to 6 hours. The aroma filled the house
like you would not believe. I had a hard
time waiting, but it was now close to dinner time. I pulled the Pork out of the pot and with two
forks shredded the meat and added it back to the pot. Finally, I got myself a good bowl full and
crumbled a fresh corn muffin on top and some shredded cheese. OMG, this is the best chili I have ever made! The sweetness of the BBQ sauce along with the
spices and heat of the peppers was so balanced; I could not stop at one
bowl. I thought I would miss the beans
(yes, there are no bean in this chili), but with the shredded Pork, chunky
tomatoes, onions & peppers – it all made perfect sense. We are having a chili cook-off here at work
and believe me – I plan on this one winning 1st place.
I hope you
enjoy this as much as I am (I still have at least two more meals left on the
pot). I have already added this recipe
to my quick reference library, and I am sure you will too. So make a batch, fire up the campfire (or
fireplace) and just sit enjoying the crisp autumn air and what will be your new
favorite chili – Shredded BBQ Pork Chili.
BBQ Pulled
Pork Chili
·
2 to 2 ½ pounds of pork loin, cut into about 1”
cubes
·
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
·
1 – 6 oz. can of tomato paste
·
1 Tablespoons of Chili Powder
·
2 teaspoons of Ground Cumin
·
1 teaspoons of Garlic Powder
·
1 teaspoons of Black Pepper
·
1 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning
·
½ teaspoon of Chipotle Pepper powder
·
2 – 28 oz. (large cans) of diced tomatoes (I
used one with Chili seasoned & onions; the other was with Chipotle)
·
1 – 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
·
1 bottle (about 18 oz.) of your favorite BBQ
Sauce
·
One large chopped Onion
·
One chopped Red Bell Pepper
One chopped Poblano Pepperh
·
Vegetable Juice
Dry Rub:
Use equal
portions of each of these:
·
Cajun Seasoning
·
Garlic Powder
·
Chili Powder
·
Old Bay Seasoning
·
Chipotle Chili Pepper Powder
Take your Pork loin out of the
refrigerator and dice into 1’ cubes. In
a large skillet, brown the Pork cubes in hot Olive oil over medium heat. While the pork is browning, add the tomato
paste. This will bring out the sweetness
of the tomato paste. Place the pork in your Crockpot and add the remaining
ingredients, leaving the Vegetable juice until the end. Now you can add the Vegetable juice to about
½” from the top of the pot. Cook on high
for 4 to 6 hours. Just before serving,
shred the pork with a large fork. Enjoy
with your favorite fresh baked bread or corn bread muffins.
