Smoky Slow Cooker Chili

Pork shoulder is usually sold in weights greater than a pound. Ask your butcher to trim off the amount you need, or look for pork shoulder steaks. Serve with corn bread.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1  pound  ground pork
• 1  pound  boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3  cups  chopped onion
• 1 3/4  cups  chopped green bell pepper
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 3  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 1  cup  lager-style beer (such as Budweiser)
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 3  tablespoons  chili powder
• 1  tablespoon  ground cumin
• 2  teaspoons  dried oregano
• 3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 6  tomatillos, quartered
• 2  bay leaves
• 2  (14 1/2-ounce) cans plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped
• 1  (15-ounce) can no-salt-added pinto beans, drained
• 1  (7 3/4-ounce) can Mexican hot-style tomato sauce (such as El Paso)
• 1  smoked ham hock (about 8 ounces)
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped green onions
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco
• 8  lime wedges

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ground pork to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to slightly crumble. Drain well. Transfer pork to an electric slow cooker.

2. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add pork shoulder; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Transfer pork to slow cooker.

3. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer; cook 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, chili powder, and next 9 ingredients (through ham hock) to slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours or until meat is tender. Remove bay leaves and ham hock; discard. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and sugar. Ladle about 1 1/3 cups chili into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 tablespoon green onions, and 1 tablespoon cheese. Serve each serving with 1 lime wedge.

Note: You can also cook the chili in a slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours. For cooking chili on the stovetop, use a total of 12 ounces beer and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the pork shoulder is tender.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

354 (0.0% from fat)

Fat:

14.2g (sat 5.1g,mono 5.9g,poly 1.4g)

Protein:

28.5g

Carbohydrate:

26.4g

Fiber:

6.8g

Cholesterol:

82mg

Iron:

3.8mg

Sodium:

645mg

Calcium:

108mg