Pork & Black Bean Chili

Are you sick of this pork yet?  I think the Boy is.  But that's too bad, we are trying to not throw out leftover and 3lb pork shoulder makes quite a few meals for 2 people.  And to avoid eating the same thing over and over again I like to try reinventing it.  We had our pulled pork burritos last week which were a winner and not exactly a reinvention tasty and a winner nonetheless.  I ate some of the pork for lunch during the week, but we still had a good bit leftover as we approached the week mark on the original dish.  Normally I'd trash them, but after a sniff and a taste it still tasted good and I knew I had to do something with it.

Sunday was a busy day with the Boy in a Union meeting all day and I was out running errands and judging Iron Cupcake Toronto at For the Love of Cake AND when the boy got home he needed to get to prepping Valentine's Day dinner since he offered to cook.  The long and short of it is I need something quick and easy that wouldn't keep me in the kitchen for too long, so he coule get to work.  I decided that this tangy shredded pork would be perfect in a chili, if I could just figure how to get that slow cooked taste throughout the dish.  I took the approach that I use in my tomato soup, the slow saute and caramelizing of the vegetables and just a quick heat through of the other ingredients really lends a slow cooked taste to the entire dish.

Pork & Black Bean Chili

serves 4

1 - 2 cup leftover pulled pork or chicken

1 19 oz can black beans drained and rinsed

1 small carrot  - chopped

1 celery stalk - chopped

1 small onion - chopped

1 jalapeno - seeded, deveined and minced

2 cloves garlic - minced

extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsps chili powder

2 Tbsps tomato paste

1/4 cup whisky

1/4 cup chili sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

1.  In a medium heavy-bottomed pot (I used my 3.5 quart Le Creuset) heat a couple glugs of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the carrot, celery, onion, jalapeno and garlic for 15 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary to avoid burning the garlic. 

2.  Add in the tomato paste and chili powder, stir to combine tomato paste and chili with the vegetables. Saute over medium low for 15 more minutes.  

3.  Raise heat to medium and deglaze the pan with whisky.  Let simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook off the alcohol.  Add in the chili sauce, pork and black beans.  Stir to combine.  Cook over medium until heated through.  Serve with sour cream and fresh bread.  

The boy didn't love this, but he ate it and didn't put up a stink the way those Shack boys do.  I'm not sure why he didn't love it because I thought the the sweetness of the Meyer Lemon Pulled Pork and whisky with the smokey chili spice and jalapeno heat made for a tasty combination.  I will definitely consider the chili route with leftover meat in the future, obviously not this recipe since I can't, but it's something that will be fun to play around with.  And I didn't throw out any of the leftover pork.  Win for me!

Here's how the last few day shaped up:

February 13 - Pork & Black Bean Chili

February 14 - Valentine's Cheese Board with all of our favorite Canadian Cheeses and Kir Royales

February 15- Short Ribs Provencal with Creme Fraiche Mashed Potatoes with Strawberry Pavlova for dessert (made by the Boy)