Sweet Pork Chili

This is one of those, "let's see what's in the fridge to make dinner with" kind of recipes that worked out well and tasted quite good.

So this picture is the version without the beans added in.
That is a mistake. The beans are really needed here as they
add substance and help to slightly thicken the end soup.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs trimmed and cut into 3/4" cubes
• 4 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 Green Bell Pepper chopped
• 3 stalks of celery chopped
• 1 healthy Pinch of Salt
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp of chili powder (depending on your level of heat tolerance)
• 1 tsp onion salt or 1/2 tsp of salt with 1/2 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 oz of tomato paste
• 14 oz of diced stewed tomatoes with juice, not drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 15 oz drained and rinsed red kidney beans
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions
Before beginning to cook, be sure to prep everything and have it ready and waiting next to the stove. When cutting up the County Style Pork Ribs trim off excess fat and any silver skin that you find. The silver skin does not break down in the cooking process and is really inedible. If you don't know what silver skin is, just google it. Turn your oven on and set it to 350.

Put a large oven safe soup pot or, preferably, a dutch oven on the stove over med high heat. Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in the pot until shimmering and then add the pork. Let the pork just start to brown and then add the 3 tbsp of soy sauce. Stir it all together until all of the pork chunks are browned, but not necessarily cooked all the way through. Take the browned pork chunks out the pan and set aside for the moment. Just in case you didn't know, absolutely do not clean out the pot before the next step. Leave any browned bits in the pot.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 more tbsp of oil into the pot, let it heat up, then add in the chopped onion, celery, and green bell pepper (also known as the trinity) to saute. Add a healthy pinch of regular salt and saute the vegetables until they are softened, the onions are translucent, and are fragrant. It is also okay if they are browned a little too. Add in the minced garlic, stir to combine, and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in the spice mix of chili powder, onion salt (or the regular salt and onion powder), granulated garlic, cumin, curry powder, and red pepper flakes. Stir this to combine and cook for 30 seconds which will give the spices a moment to bloom and get fragrant. Now add the 3 oz of tomato paste, stir it in, and cook for about 2 minutes. This will caramelize the tomato paste and build flavor. Don't worry if it starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, just don't let it burn. Dark brown on the bottom of the pan is fine. Black is not so great.

After the mixture has cooked for about 2 minutes, add the chicken stock, 14 oz of diced stewed tomatoes, 15 oz of Dark Red Kidney Beans, and the 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Stir all up until it is combined, making sure that you scrape the bottom of the pot to get up any browned and caramelized tomato paste goodness. Add back in the pork chunks, cover the pot with foil and put on its lid to create a tight seal. Put it in the 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides of the pot when you take it out and do your final stir before serving.

Serve with whatever you like with your chili. Eat it straight or with a dollop of sour cream to mellow it out a bit.