This chili gave me grief for a while. At first it was missing something, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. A friend of mine and her husband tried it out for me and tinkered with it. After some tweaks, they entered it into a chili cook-off and won second place—in Texas, mind you. It’s a slightly exotic take on chili, with lots of citrus, sweet mango, and coconut milk. And clearly, it is a winner.
Prep time 20 minutes
Serves 6
2 pounds (905 g) pork shoulder roast, cut into large chunks
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons (15 g) chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice
3 tablespoons (45 ml) melted Homemade Ghee
1 15-ounce (425 g) can diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce (227 g) can tomato sauce
1 cup (160 g) diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons (45 ml) coconut aminos
1 4-ounce (113 g) can diced green chillies
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 sprig fresh mint, leaves removed and minced
1 cup (235 ml) full-fat coconut milk
1 Place the pork in a medium bowl.
2 In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, coconut sugar, and citrus zest. Sprinkle over the pork and, using your hands, toss until pork is evenly coated. Place the pork in a 4-quart (3.8 liter) slow cooker.
3 Add the citrus juice, ghee, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, jalapeño, aminos, and green chilies to the cooker and give the mixture a stir.
4 Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours (or 3 to 4 on high), until pork is very tender. Remove the pork from the cooker and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Return the pork to the chili.
5 Stir in the mango chunks, cilantro, mint, and coconut milk. Cover and let the chili cook for another 15 minutes before serving.
