Smoky Slow-Cooked Chili

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork

1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3 cups chopped onion

1 3/4 cups chopped green bell pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup lager-style beer (such as Budweiser)

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 tomatillos, quartered

2 bay leaves

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added pinto beans, drained

1 (7 3/4-ounce) can Mexican hot-style tomato sauce (such as El Paso)

1 smoked ham hock (about 8 ounces)

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

2 ounces crumbled queso fresco (about 1/2 cup)

8 lime wedges

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ground pork to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to slightly crumble. Drain well. Transfer pork to an electric slow cooker.

2. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add pork shoulder; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Transfer pork to slow cooker.

3. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer; cook 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add chili powder, and next 9 ingredients (through ham hock) to slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours or until meat is tender. Remove bay leaves and ham hock; discard. Stir in sugar. Ladle about 1 1/3 cups chili into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 tablespoon green onions, and 1 tablespoon cheese. Serve each serving with 1 lime wedge.

Note: You can also cook the chili in a slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours. For cooking chili on the stovetop, use a total of 12 ounces beer and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the pork shoulder is tender.