Let's take a look at two very different chili recipes - Denver Green Chili vs Texas Chili and since I'm in that sorta mood ... let's make it a chili fries throwdown too.
Denver Pork Green Chili Recipe
This recipe is based on the famous green chili found at Chopper's Sports Grill in Denver but like all recipes, I like to change things up and make things different. Most notably, their recipe does not contain tomatoes and calls for smaller chunks of pork and a darker roux.
Denver Pork Green Chili Ingredients
- 2 lbs cubed pork (you can buy this pre-chopped in the meat section of your grocery store!)
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 cups water
- ½ lb butter
- 1 large sweet yellow onion, medium dice
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups diced hot green chiles
- 2 cups diced mild green chiles
- 1 can of Rotel
- 3 tbsp green hot sauce
Denver Pork Green Chili Recipe Preparation
Place the pork, salt, and water in a large pot and simmer for about 1 to 1.5 hours until tender and make sure to have the lid on since you'll be using that water for the chili shortly.
In another pan, melt the butter and caramelized the onions, then add garlic and oregano, and slowly stir in the flour to start the roux.
Once mixed with no lumps, take the pan and place it in the oven to brown at 350 degrees. Make sure to stir it every 15-20 minutes until the desired color is met. I tend to like something that is blonde to light brown but you can take it all the way to chocolate if you want a more nutty flavor.
When the roux is your desired color, add in the chicken stock and mix it together till smooth and add it into the pot where the pork has been simmering along with the chilis, chili powder, green hot sauce, and Rotel.
Continue to simmer the chili for at least another 30 minutes to let the flavors combine but make sure to stir occasionally to prevent burning.
Once the chili has thickened up and is ready to serve, take it and place it over the fries you prepared earlier or you can transfer the mixture to your slow cooker and have it on the table for guests to serve themselves.
Dallas Texas Slow Cooker Red Chili Recipe
Now we're heading over to Texas for a slow cooker chili recipe that is closer to what most American's identify as chili. This recipe is a lot easier to make as well as clean up afterwards too!
Dallas Texas Slow Cooker Red Chili Ingredients
- 2 lbs cubed beef chuck "stew meat" (you can buy this pre chopped in the meat section of your grocery store!)
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, fine chop
- 4 tbsp fresh minced garlic
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- ¾ cup chili powder
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
- 2 cans of Rotel Hot
- 2 cups diced hot green chiles
- 1 cups diced mild green chiles
- 3 tbsp green hot sauce
Dallas Texas Slow Cooker Red Chili Recipe Preparation
Place the cubed beef in a large frying pan along with oil and brown sugar to brown the meat. Make sure not to crowd the beef, we want to get all sides a bit browned with a bit of caramelization from the brown sugar.
After the beef is cooked, transfer it to your slow cooker.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions till they are caramelized (add extra oil or butter if needed), then add garlic, chiles, cumin, hot sauce, and chili powder and cook for 3-5 minutes until everything is well mixed and transfer the ingredients to your slow cooker and mix it with the meat along with extra brown sugar if you want to cut some of the acidity from the tomatoes.
Cook on high for 1 hour and then reduce to low for 6 hours.
