Pork Chorizo Chili

This was one of those meals that was a true experiment. We had some defrosted pork strips for a stir fry and I had just made some pinto beans when I decided that I was more in the mood for Mexican food rather than Chinese. So I dug up my favorite vegetarian chorizo recipe and decided to combine the beans, pork and chorizo flavorings to make a chili of a sort. Happily, it worked out splendidly.

Pork Chorizo Chili

1 lb pork strips
2 bacon strips, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 cup stock or bean cooking liquid
2 cups cooked beans (pintos, red kidney)
1 red pepper, cored and diced
3 ancho peppers, (dried pasilla) torn in pieces
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon salt
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 whole cloves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon stock or water

In a skillet dry roast the ancho pepper and seeds and the cumin seeds, 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Place in a food processor and add salt, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, pepper flakes, and oregano. Pulse to combine. Add cider vinegar and stock or water to create a paste. Set aside

In large stock pot cook bacon over medium heat. Once all bacon fat renders add pork and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook until it looses raw color. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Meat will give up some liquid; heat liquid over high heat and add onion and carrots and cook until soft. Add spice paste to onions and stir to combine. Add tomatoes and beans and water to just cover if you don't have bean liquid. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add meat back to pot and cook another 10 minutes to marry flavors. Season liberally with salt and serve over rice.

Hugs!