This chili recipe is the perfect antidote to our whiplash weather here…today, we had a high of 18 and it’s snowing, two weeks ago we broke a record  with temps at 62?!.

It’s New England so despite the fact that the calendar says spring is in just 3 weeks, I KNOW we’ll have intermittent winter for a while longer…we’ve had snow in May.

This is my favorite Chili con Carne recipe and it came to me by way of my sister-in-law (yes, the same one who got me addicted to the Lucia Roll Recipe and, indisputably, the BEST Gingerbread Cookie Recipe).

Chili is terrific cold weather comfort food in all its forms.  Con Carne is, obviously, with meat, but for an absolutely delicious vegetarian chili (or just a change of pace!), check out our Sweet Potato and Bean Chili recipe.

This Chili con Carne recipe says ‘Joe’s Chili’ on it.  I don’t know who Joe is, but thank you, Joe, wherever you are - this is the key to a warm and hearty dinner tonight!

I make it on the stove because the smell is heavenly, but you can also adapt it to the Instant Pot, which reduces the time considerably - I’ve included a guesstimate of what I think should be the Instant Pot cooking time equivalents, but I confess I’ve not made it in the Instant Pot yet. If you do try it, let me know

Chili con Carne Recipe

Serves…a lot!

This makes somewhere around 7 quarts depending on the amount of meat. I always have plenty for leftovers and to freeze! It takes ~ 2 1/2 hrs all in for the stovetop version, or ~ 1 hr if using an Instant Pot.

Ingredients

• 2 1 1/2” thick bone-in pork chops

• 2 lbs ground beef

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 Tbsp chili powder

• 1 1/2 tsp cumin

• 3 Tbsp salt

• 2 tsp ground pepper

• 1 14 oz can chicken broth

• 3 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

• 2 28 oz cans kidney beans (with liquid)

• 1 28 oz can black beans, drained

• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

• 1/2 Tbsp chili  seasoned olive oil +/-

Garnishes

• shredded Mexican cheese

• sour cream

• scallions (or cilantro, if you insist!)

Directions

• Add the crushed tomatoes to a large (8 qt) pot, cover and bring to a slow boil.

• In a separate pan, brown the pork chops on both sides

• Add browned pork chops to crushed tomatoes and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hrs (stovetop), or ~20 minutes on high pressure (Instant Pot), until the pork falls off the bones easily

• Remove the pork chops from the pot and set aside to cool

• Sauté onion and add to tomatoes

• Sauté the ground meats and add to the pot

• Deglaze the sauté pan with the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits (color = flavor!). Add this liquid to pot along with all the remaining ingredients and seasonings.

• Shred the cooled pork and add to pot

• Simmer for another 30 minutes (stovetop), or ~5 minutes on high pressure (Instant Pot) and adjust seasonings to taste.

• Serve topped with shredded Mexican cheese and/or a dollop of sour cream. 

• Garnish with something green…a sprinkle of cilantro if you must, OR snipped scallions, which you, of course, keep on hand in the freezer (they’ll defrost on contact!)

¡Buen provecho!

Serve with these mini corn muffins, or tortilla chips. Stay warm, friends!