Clear 99 – Today's Best Country Today's Best Country
Yes, tied for third is still an award! Mine was “G” btw…
We’ve been talking about pork all month since it’s National Pork Month with the Missouri Pork Producers. A couple of weeks ago a listener suggested pulled-pork chili, so I gave it a shot. Out of 9 entries in the recent Zimmer Communications Halloween Chili Cook-Off mine tied for 3rd!
It was one of those shoot-from-the-hip, thrown-together recipes but several have asked, so here it is.
I prepared the pork the basically the same way I did with the tacos from earlier in the month…
- I started with a 3 lb. pork shoulder from Mo Pork.
- I patted it dry with paper towels and rubbed it generously with Show-Me BBQ Rub. (Always use local stuff when you can!) After it was too late, I wondered if I could’ve used more “Mexican Food” spices. I still wonder if just using regular taco seasoning for a rub would work, I have no idea. Either way, I’m a big believer in rubbing up any big cut of meat that you’re going to be slow-cooking, a day or two ahead of time.
- I sprayed the pot with cooking spray, then sliced a big onion and placed three slices in a row in the bottom of the pot.
- The sauce: I took an 11 0z can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I picked out the peppers and rough chopped them, then added a couple of spoonful’s of the sauce. Then about a cup of normal salsa, some squeeze garlic, and a couple of shakes of paprika, cumin and some salt. Put it all in a bowl and whisked it up.
- Next I put the pork shoulder in the pot on top of the onions fat side up, then put three more onion slices on top of the meat .
- A couple of things here. Some recipes suggest browning the meat on all sides first. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, this time I didn’t. Like I said, long week.
- Several recipes also suggested cutting the shoulder in pieces for more even cooking. Again, sometimes & sometimes…this time I didn’t, it was great.
- I poured the sauce over the pork, evened it out with a spoon.
- I wanted to add some liquid, so I used 12oz of Diet Coke. Then I put the lid on, set it on low, and went to bed.
- The next morning I strained the juices to take out the fat, and kept the juice. I shredded the pork with forks because it was so tender. I put some of the juice back in with the pork, but I was afraid that the heat from the sauce would over-power the chili. Next time I may try dumping a little more.
- Then I added 2 cans of red chili beans, a 280z can of diced tomatoes, probably a 1/2 cup of bbq sauce, and a few shakes of chili powder, cumin and paprika.
- Then I took it to work and cooked it on low for another 5-6 hours.
NEXT TIME…I might add some more tomatoes, or other liquid to the second crock potting process. By the time everybody went through the line, there was still a lot of pork, and not much “chili”. I saw some recipes that added chicken or beef stock, so maybe I’ll try that.
Anyway, a lot of folks enjoyed it. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! – scotty
