Chili Colorado
Kick up your feet and get cozy, as this vibrant Chili makes the back-to-school season a whole lot better. The blend of peppers, pork, & sage will elevate your flavor profile.
PREP TIME: 25 minutes
COOK TIME: 1.5-2.5 hours
LEVEL: Intermediate
YIELD: 10 servings
Ingredients
4 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1” cubes
5 dried ancho chiles (cut and deseeded)
2 dried pasilla peppers (cut and deseeded)
2 dried guajillo peppers (cut and deseeded)
6 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp finely chopped sage
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
3 bay leaves
2-3 tbsp neutral oil (avocado, grapeseed, vegetable)
Salt and pepper to taste
Flaky sea salt
1 red onion finely sliced, for garnish
2 tbsp cilantro, for garnish
Method of Preparation
- Set your Mise en Place (Everything prepped and ready to go).
- In a large heavy bottomed pot, preheat over medium-high heat for a couple minutes and toast your peppers turning constantly for 1-2 minutes. Once fragrant and toasted, pour in your chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Turn off immediately and set aside for 30 minutes as the flavors meld.
- In the meantime, season pork generously with salt and pepper. Mix and set aside.
- Using a blender, put the hydrated peppers in with 3 cups of liquid and blend on high for 1 minute. This will be used later; Separate the rest of the liquid that can be poured into another vessel and reserved for braising.
- Dry off and in the same pot, we will sear the pork on high heat. Pour in oil and begin searing pork on all sides until beautifully browned. This will result in crispy bits to get stuck on the bottom of the pot that will be flavorful for the chili. Once all the pork is seared, set aside.
- Taking the pot off the burner, sauté garlic, sage, cumin and oregano until fragrant (about 1 min).
- Return to your burner and over medium-high heat, pour in 1 cup reserved liquid to deglaze the bottom, scraping with a flat edge wooden spoon.
- Once it has lifted, return pork and pour your pepper puree. Make sure to use all the puree, pour in some reserved liquid and swish it around to get all of it. The rest of the liquid can go in as well.
- Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium. Simmer, covered for 1-2 hours, the longer you simmer the tender it’ll get. For the last 30-40 minutes of your cooking process remove cover and continue simmering until it reduces and thickens.
- Serve in a bowl and garnish with onion, cilantro and flaky salt this will be the best comfort food you’ll ever have.
