Pulled Pork Chili

A few months ago my in-laws bought half a pig, and gave us many packages of meat from that. I normally don't use pork very often (I like it, I just don't think of it often), so this gave me an opportunity to try out some new recipes! One of them was this chili. I had torn the recipe out of a Kraft Foods magazine about a year ago. I read the reviews of it online, and made a few changes based on what I read. This version, I think, is perfect! It's flavorful, but not too spicy. The meat is nice and tender!

One change I made to the recipe was to sear the meat in a pan before putting it in the crockpot. I have heard that that makes meat more flavorful, but without trying the two versions side-by-side (one with searing, one without), I can't tell you for sure if it makes a difference. I always sear it and I love the end result, but most likely this would still be delicious if you skipped that. Just a thought!

Pulled Pork Chili
Printable version here

1-2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1 boneless pork roast, about 1 1/2 lbs., trimmed of fat
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 large can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 1/2 oz.) red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can (15 1/2 oz.) black beans, drained & rinsed
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander (or you can substitute an additional tsp. of cumin)
Toppings such as sour cream & grated cheese

1. (Optional step) Preheat a large skillet (I use a 12-inch cast iron pan) to medium-high. Drizzle the pan with oil. Next, place the pork roast in the hot pan, and leave undisturbed for 3 minutes to brown. Flip to the other side, and continue browning each side like this, until pork is browned on most surfaces. Remove from pan and place in slow cooker.

2. Add a little more oil to pan, then add diced onions. Saute until onions are lightly browned. Add minced garlic, cook for 30 more seconds, then add about 1/4 cup of the broth. Stir pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Pour this mixture in the slow cooker.

3. Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker, stir. (Alternately, just add all ingredients at once.) Cover and cook on high for about 7 hours (or low for 10-12 hours). Remove pork from slow cooker. Shred, then mix it in with the chili.

Adapted from Kraft Food & Family Magazine

Why I love it? It works very well in the crock pot. It takes me less than 1/2 an hour to prepare in the morning, then dinnertime is so simple! Normally I make chili with ground beef, so this is a nice change. The pulled pork turns out perfectly!