Hearty Pork Chili

December, 21st 2021 By Recipes by Sugar

Recipe Credit: Dear Crissy

Hearty Pork Chili is my one and only chili recipe I will make now. I had been searching for the perfect chili recipe for a couple of years. Nothing really stood out to me, even the chili at chili cook-offs at work. Everything was very similar but I always thought it could be better. One random day, I found myself in a time crunch to use some ground pork I had, otherwise it would go to waste. So I got on Pinterest and started to search for ground pork chili recipes. That is when I came across the recipe from Dear Crissy. When I first made the recipe, I thought to myself I had found the perfect chili recipe but it still needed tweaked to my liking. So below are the adjustments I have made to the recipe. Every time I make Hearty Pork Chili or give the recipe to others, they say this is some of the best chili they have ever had.

Ingredients for Hearty Pork Chili

• 2 lbs ground mild breakfast sausage – Jimmy Dean’s Original breakfast sausage
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
• Two 15 oz cans mild Ro-Tel with green chiles
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 15 oz can kidney beans with liquid
• 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
• 15 oz can corn, drained (optional)

Utensils Needed

• Pasta pot or stock pot with lid
• Meat chopper
• Utensil spoon
• Can opener
• Tablespoon
• Teaspoon
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Food processor (optional)
• Strainer (optional)
• Scissors (optional)

Directions for Hearty Pork Chili

Prep Time: 20 minutes / Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

1. Dice the onion and mince your garlic. (Quarter the onion and put in a food processor with your whole garlic cloves and blend).
2. Add ground pork, onion, and garlic to pasta pot and cook on medium to medium high heat. Use the meat chopper to break meat up.
3. While meat is cooking, open all your cans and drain the ones that need drained. The original recipe says to dump the stewed tomatoes into the pasta pot then use the meat chopper to break them up. I actually find it easier to use my scissors and cut the tomatoes up while they are in the can still.
4. Once meat is browned, if needed, drain.
5. Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, salt, oregano, sugar, stewed tomatoes, Ro-Tel, and tomato sauce. Then stir until combined.
6. Heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 1 hour, covered. Stir occasionally.
7. Add kidney beans, pinto beans, and corn. Stir until combined.
8. Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
9. Serve with your favorite toppings, enjoy!

Variations

• I have made this same recipe with 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound ground pork and it turned out great.
• You can use plain ground sausage in place of breakfast, it will have less flavor but still good! You could try some Italian sausage in it.
• Someone I know told me ground venison is great with this recipe, I plan to try this soon.
• We love corn in our chili, but you can leave it out.
• You can leave out the sugar for less sweetness. You can add additional chili powder and cayenne pepper for more spice.
• We like to serve with crackers, cornbread, Fritos, cheddar cheese, and sour cream.