2015's Entry: The Other White Chili (1st Place Winner)

They say you're supposed to love all your children equally. Well thank goodness these chilis are not our children, because Jesse and I definitely play favorites. Up until 2015, the breakfast chili (2013) was our mutual favorite. But I think this creamy, cheesy, spicy mess wormed its way into my new top-pick.

Jesse takes credit for this idea (I believe after having a green chili in Colorado)--and I'm more than happy to give it to him if it means more chili for me! We knew we definitely wanted to do a pork white chili, though I was shocked at how few pork white chili recipes were out there. The "category" is dominated by chicken. What a shame--the other white meat, makes for one killer other white chili.

This also marks the first (and so far only) chili where we brewed a beer specifically to use in the chili: a vanilla porter, which added a lovely hint of sweet to balance out all the spice. Frankly, the homebrew and scorpion pepper pulled pork was drool-worthy enough to serve on its own (why haven't I done that yet?). Round it out with creamy and smokey refried white beans and an ooey gooey ghost pepper white queso and the result is our second first place chili entry.

NOTE: This is our "test batch" size, which yields about one gallon of chili

Ingredients:

2 lb. pork shoulder to shred with:

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1.5 tablespoons chili chipotle powder

-1/2 tablespoon oregano

-1/2 tablespoon cumin

-1/2 tablespoon BBQ seasoning

-1/2 teaspoon ghost pepper sauce

-salt and pepper

-3 tablespoons minced garlic

-3/4 cup dark beer (we used a porter)

1.5 pounds slab bacon, sliced into "lardons"

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 chopped yellow onion

4 chopped poblanos

1 chopped jalapeños

1 clove minced garlic

1 tablespoon of oregano

32 oz. low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

2 15oz cans of white navy beans

2 15oz cans of hominy/white corn

Refried white beans (full recipe yield)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt & pepper to taste

Steps:

1. COOK THE PORK: Combine spices and rub down pork. In a dutch oven, heat olive oil over high heat until hot. Place pork in the dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium and brown on all side of the roast turning every two minutes until nice and brown.

2. Once roast is nice and brown, cover with garlic, ghost pepper sauce, and beer. Add the chipotle pepper to the pot and bring liquid to a simmer. Cover and slow-roast in a 325˚ oven for 2-4 hours until super shreddably tender

3. Once tender enough to shred, remove from oven and place roasted pork on a separate plate to rest.

4. Reserve any pan drippings in a small container.

5. Using the same dutch oven packed full of flavor, add bacon and cook until crisp/fat is rendered (add brown sugar to caramelize - wait until fat is starting to render). Add chopped onions and peppers and cook until tender for 5 minutes, stirring.

6. Add minced garlic, additional 1/2 tablespoon spice mix from the pork, plus oregano and cook for an additional minute.

7. Add chicken broth, beans, and hominy. Place over high heat and bring to a low simmer for 20-30 minutes (you want the liquid to boil down so it's a lot thicker)

8. Add refried beans and stir until they have incorporated

9. Shred pork and place shredded pork to the pot along with the pan drippings

10. Simmer for 10-20 minutes, until fairly thick (remember you'll be adding cream and such at the end, which will thin it out a bit)

11. Taste and add seasonings (we added an additional 1 teaspoon ghost pepper sauce, generous shaking of bbq spice mix, and a 1/2 cup of beer - but that's our taste, yours may be different!)

12. Remove from heat and add sour cream. Once incorporated, add cream. At this point taste and see if you need to add anymore salt & pepper, spices.

13. Serve topped with Fritos and ghost pepper white queso (recipe here)