Tag Archives: delicious

Bomb-Ass Pork Chili con Carne

I like to think about what is available to most home cooks, so I try my best to adapt my recipes to be widely accessible. Always feel free to contact me with any questions!

2 lb Boneless pork butt, cubed into 1 inch pieces

3 Yellow Onions, diced

2 Poblano peppers, diced with seeds removed

1 can of diced, charred tomatoes

2 T of tomato paste

4 each of 3 different dried chili peppers (I used ancho, mulato and guajillo for mild spice, smokiness and sweetness)

4 leaves of fresh Sage

3 sprigs of fresh oregano

1 can of Black or white beans

2 cups beef stock (or water with a tbsp of beef Better Than Bullion)

1 cup of Coffee

2 oz of chili infused mexican chocolate or 70% dark chocolate

1/2 cup white Vinegar

112 fl oz can of a Beer (look for something full flavored like Modelo and avoid light beers)

2 tsp Ground Cumin

2 tsp Coriander seed

2 tsp Celery salt

2 T Garlic powder

2 packets of Sazon (for the pork)

Neutral oil

Garnish with shredded cheddar, scallions, sour cream and Fritos

Equipment: blender, 5 qt pot/ dutch oven, a few bowls to hold prepped ingredients, 1 sheet pan for roasting the dried chilis, oven bits

  1. The morning you want to make this chili, season the chunks of pork with all of the Sazon seasoning and let it sit in a plastic bag in the fridge
  2. 4-8 hours later you want to get your pot/ dutch oven preheating over medium on the stove with 2 Tbsp of a neutral oil.
  3. Once hot, sear each piece of meat on 2 sides in 3-4 batches. If you overcrowd the pot it will steam rather than sear the bottom of the meat. Once all the meat is seared, reserve it on the side to be re-added later.
  4. With the heat still on medium, add another 2 T of oil and then the onions and poblano peppers. Stir occasionally.
  5. While the vegetables sauté, lightly toast the dried chilis in an oven set to 400℉ for 5 minutes. Flip the chilis and return them to the oven for another 5 minutes. If they start to smoke or burn at all, remove them from the oven.
  6. When the vegetables in the pot are lightly browned around their edges, add all of the ground spices, mix and toast for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and a T of oil and fry that for another minute or two, or until the paste is fragrant and has darkened slightly. Add the canned tomatoes.
  7. After the chilis are toasted and fragrant, remove the stems and seeds. Add the chilis to the jar of your blender with the vinegar, beer, coffee, stock/ better than bullion and water and let soak until the dried chiles have softened. Blend until completely smooth.
  8. Add the meat, chili puree, fresh herbs and chocolate to the pot with the vegetables and simmer the whole thing for at least 3 hours, checking every 30 mins or so. You can do this on the stove over medium/ low heat, but the best way to do this is to out your pot into a 350 ℉ oven with an oven save lid cracked slightly.
  9. After the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork and the sauce has thickened and reduced slightly, add the beans of your choice. Let the beans heat through for about 15 minutes and serve with preferred garnishes.

Lamb Ragu

I like to think about what is available to most home cooks, so I try my best to adapt my recipes to be widely accessible. Always feel free to contact me with any questions!

For this iteration I used the mafaldine pasta shape and ground lamb. My favorite version of this dish however used a thick lamb leg steak and orzo pasta. I dry brined the steak in my fridge for 2 days by liberally salting all sides of it and letting it sit on a paper towel lined plate uncovered in my fridge. The surface was dry and seared beautifully. The dry brining magnified the meat’s flavor, so go the extra mile if you can.

1 pound lamb leg steak OR 1 pound of ground lamb

4 oz of a cured meat, cut into lardon (cubes) about a quarter/half inch thick; for my tests I used guanciale and smoked coppa, but pancetta or slab bacon would work as well

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 poblano pepper, seeded and small/medium diced (about 1/2 in x 1/2 in)

2 medium sized carrots, small/medium diced

A 4 inch segment from the white of a leek, small/medium diced *(remember to clean your leeks! Soak them in enough cold water so that they float to the top and then skim them off the top, leaving the dirt behind at the bottom of the bowl)

2 T tomato paste, double concentrated if possible

3/4 cup Red wine

1 1/2 cups of passata/ tomato puree

Just enough water or stock (any stock, but lamb or beef is best) to help it come together; I used just over a half cup

Bouquet of fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf (tie it all together with some butcher’s twine)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 T cold butter

1. Add the cubes of cured pork into a pot with a small amount of water. Turn the heat to medium-low and render the fat out of it.

2. Once the water has boiled out of the pot and what is left is browned meat and a pool of flavorful fat, remove the meat and reserve to a metal pan (no paper towels or fat draining necessary).

3. Turn the burner to medium high and add your lamb of choice. It should be liberally seasoned with salt. Sear the lamb until dark brown on one side and carefully flip it. If you’re using ground meat, break the meat up into small chunks with a wooden spoon.

If you opt for the quicker and easier ground lamb route, form the meat into a shape similar to the pot/pan you’re using

4. Lower the heat as low as it can go once the meat is sufficiently browned and then remove it from the pot. It can wait with the lardon in its metal pan.

5. Adjust the heat to medium and add enough olive oil to easily cover the bottom of the pan. Add all of the vegetables once the oil shimmers

6. Sweat the vegetables and garlic until mostly cooked through, be careful to avoid browning if possible (turn the heat down as needed)

7. Clear out a space in the middle of your pan with your wooden spoon, add a little more oil and fry your tomato paste in it. Stir everything together, making sure to coat all the vegetables in the tomato paste.

8. Add the red wine and cook that until it has reduced by half. Then add the tomato puree and the stock/ water

9. Add the, herbs and red pepper flakes and meat as well as about 10 cranks of fresh black pepper

10. Cook on low with the lid of the pot cracked for a few hours, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. If you used a leg steak, the meat should break up and easily mix into the sauce.

11. To use in pasta, cook the pasta to package instructions in water that is just saltier than tears. When the it’s just a couple minutes away from being cooked through, heat a pan with enough oil to barely cover the bottom of it. Add a half cup or so of ragu per serving of pasta (just enough to coat the amount of pasta you’re using, not too much) and reheat over medium-low just until the pasta is done (careful not to over burn the bottom)

The sauce tastes best after it sits in the fridge for overnight, so make the sauce ahead if you can

12. Once al dente (or however you like it), add the pasta to the sauce and toss vigorously until coated. Add about a quarter/ half cup of pasta water and toss again. Season to taste with salt with more than yiu think you might need. The cold butter added at the end will balance the flavors perfectly.

13. Right before serving, turn the heat off and add the cold butter to the pasta and toss vigorously. Plate as desired and grate part on top to serve