Pork instead of beef??

[Jeff G.]

anyone ever used spiced pork instead of beef for Chili.

I have a cook off this weekend. While I love my Chili I think I want to try something new.

I can't decide if I should boil the pork down and shred it, or cube it up and saute with the onions and peppers.. In any case I will have to change out the flavors to a little softer edge due to the lighter flavor of the meat.

Opinions??

 

[Barb L.]

If you do pork, I would cube it - should be very good ! Could use both !

 

[strawberry]

A pork chili might be very good. I know when I do mexican food I reach for pork more often than beef or chicken. It has more depth of flavor than chicken but isn't as heavy as beef.

 

[kitchenelf]

Well - since we have options here - I can't imagine how a smoked pork butt, shredded in chili stuff, could POSSIBLY go wrong! ....Shredded or chopped after it's cooked - it just doesn't matter IMHO.

 

[Katie H]

Yum, sounds like a win-win situation.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Cube your pork and go for it

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Ooooh Jeff, I think pork sounds wonderful in chili. Shredded would probably keep the texture closer to traditional chili but cubed might allow the flavor of the pork to come through stronger in each bite full. Do you use beans in your chili? If so, I think the cubed might really look awesome as well as taste great. Be sure and let us know what you decided on and how the cook-off went!

 

[keltin]

Boil and shred or cube and sauté are more a function of the cut you choose. If you go with a shoulder or butt, it’ll shred even if you do cube it. If you go with a loin, it will hold together longer under the heat. What cut are you thinking of using?

Either way, I think a pork chili will be outstanding! I don’t know if you’ll win a competition with it though.....it depends on the whether the judges are purists or traditionalists.

If you wanted to be confident about winning, smoke a brisket, then cut it up and use that as your meat in the chili.

 

[Jeff G.]

I have 10 or 15lbs of pork loin in the freezer. I probably pull a 1.5lb hunk out(already cut down) and use that. I think I will go with cubed, but I am going to cook it with smoked fat back bacon to add a smoky element.

I'll try and take pictures and I will definitely let everyone know how it goes!


Yes.... I do like beans in my chili... Actually, I like beans about any time....

 

[auntdot]

Chili with smoked pork butt sounds interesting, however there may be one problem.

The ICS rules allow chili made with any meat. But it cannot be pre-cooked. Am not sure how they would look upon smoked pork butt. My guess is that it is pre-cooked enough as to be a no-no. But heck if I know for sure.

But if one is just making chili without ICS rules, and I typically do, I think it would make a fine bowl of red.

People use pork in chili competitions all the time. Or mixtures of pork and beef.

Good luck.

 

[Jeff G.]

Chili with smoked pork butt sounds interesting, however there may be one problem.

The ICS rules allow chili made with any meat. But it cannot be pre-cooked. Am not sure how they would look upon smoked pork butt. My guess is that it is pre-cooked enough as to be a no-no. But heck if I know for sure.

But if one is just making chili without ICS rules, and I typically do, I think it would make a fine bowl of red.

People use pork in chili competitions all the time. Or mixtures of pork and beef.

Good luck.

well, not an ICS competition. I am actually going to use a pork loin, just season it with smoked bacon... I care more about flavor than following some "rule".. Personally, I think they should lighten up a little. There is a huge difference between allowing a smoked meat in but not a pre-cooked regular cut of meat. You can't get the flavor of true smoking in the short time allowed in a standard competition.

I believe the original rule was to prevent problems with food contamination. By cooking everything on site the likelihood of bad food is greatly reduced.
Smoked meats would not be a problem. I wonder if smoking the meat would be considered "treating the meat" instead of cooking. If so, then it would be allowed.....

 

[auntdot]

Yeah Jeff, on site, during the three hours you can do anything you want to the meat. Even smoking it, but how one can smoke a piece of meat and make chili in three hours I have no idea.

Don't know what the opinion would be about smoked meat. I guess it might depend upon how it was smoked.

Like many regulations decisions aren't made about them until someone tries something not carefully defined.

As an aside, the interpretation part of the rules is why I prefer to do my own income taxes. If there is a regulation out there, a CPA always seems to prefer the 'conservative' interpretation while I prefer to opt for the interpretation that goes in my favor. If you work for the IRS, by the way, this was a theoretical communication.

My guess is that if you were bringing meat in that one would not consider safe to eat because it was uncooked, it might be considered OK. If not, well, my guess is that it is cooked.

Again best of luck.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

As an aside, the interpretation part of the rules is why I prefer to do my own income taxes. If there is a regulation out there, a CPA always seems to prefer the 'conservative' interpretation while I prefer to opt for the interpretation that goes in my favor. If you work for the IRS, by the way, this was a theoretical communication.

I like this approach - interpretive taxes! As for the theoretical part, just another good reason for user names.

 

[Andy M.]

CPAs who are creative in their interprtation of tax law can be reached by calling the switchboard at the nearest Federal prison.

 

[Caine]

I always use at least three different meats in my chili, and never ground meat, always cubed, diced, or shredded, but haven't we discussed this before? I usually use a mixture of 2 parts beef, 1 part pork, and 1 part either veal, lamb, or goat.

Personally, I'd go with goat. That'll either blow people's socks off, or make them blow chunks. Either way, you'll have the judges' attention.

 

[keltin]

Personally, I'd go with goat. That'll either blow people's socks off, or make them blow chunks. Either way, you'll have the judges' attention.

That's funny!

 

[Jeff G.]

I cooked the chili last night with the cubed pork.

It's nice. the lighter flavor of the pork lets the flavors of the peppers and tomatoes shine a bit more. you do have to be careful to not over season it. The smoked bacon added a nice touch to the flavor. Not as pronounced as I had initially thought it would be, but nice. I will see how the group likes it Saturday night.