Pork Chili

Paul Lynch
Main

This is heavily modified from the starting point of an Alton Brown Good Eats recipe, to use non-American ingredients. It is much more of a traditional chili than the sort with mince and beans.

  • 1.5 kg pork shoulder. This can be shoulder steaks or a joint.
  • 1 bottle beer (12oz), not dark (so not stout/Guinness or brown).
  • 1 tbs oil
  • 16 oz salsa or 300 ml jar of hot salsa plus 300 ml passata
  • 1 tbs tomato puree
  • 1 tbs cumin seeds
  • 1 tbs chili powder (or equivalent)
  • 1 tbs chili sauce (or Tabasco, or Nando piri-piri sauce/marinade)
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 (hot) green chilies - birds eye or similar
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small bunch coriander, chopped, for garnish

You can get more sophisticated with the various chilies, but the above is likely to be the limit for a British supermarket. The exact heat depends on the chilis you use; aim for reasonably hot.

Cut the pork into 1" cubes. Heat the oil in a frying pan (or in a casserole), and brown the meat in small batches; each batch will take about 2 minutes.

Tip off any excess fat, then drop in the cumin for about ten seconds, then deglaze with the bottle of beer. Scrape the pan with a spatula to dissolve the fond (the brown bits sticking to the pan).

Put the meat, deglazing juices and all the remaining ingredients (not the coriander) in your casserole. Stir well, then bring up to simmering point and put into a slow oven. Leave for at least 2.5 hours, or until the meat is easily broken with a spoon; any fat or connective tissue should be well dissolved, and the sauce will have thickened up considerably; leave in the oven with the lid off if you want a thicker sauce.

Serve, garnished with the coriander.

Salsa

  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 small onion or shallot
  • 1 large or 2 medium tomatoes
  • 1 lime
  • 1 bunch coriander

This makes an uncooked salsa; double the quantities if you want to use it for the chili recipe above.

Finely chop the onion, tomatoes (discard the seeds) and coriander. Add the juice of the lime (a little zest can make a nice pick up), and add a pinch of salt to taste. Leave to meld flavours for an hour or two (never refrigerate this, the tomatoes don’t like it).