For an impressive meal that can feed a crowd, simmer Mexican corn dumplings in a hearty pork-bean chili with aromatic spices like cumin, cloves and ancho. While the dumplings are typically made with lard, we’re using butter here.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 4 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Cook: | 3 hr |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 4 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Cook: | 3 hr |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans, picked over (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 10 cloves garlic (6 smashed; 4 minced)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/4 cup ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 14-ounce cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- 1 bunch cilantro, leaves only
- Juice of 2 limes, plus lime wedges for serving
- Shredded cheddar cheese, for topping
- Sour cream, for serving (optional)
- 2 cups masa harina (instant corn flour)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Make the chili: Put the beans in a Dutch oven or large pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook 10 minutes. Drain the beans, return them to the pot and cover with water by about 3 inches. Add the thyme, bay leaves and 4 smashed garlic cloves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, skimming off any foam, until the beans begin to soften, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic, chili powder, ancho chile powder, paprika, oregano, cumin and cloves; cook 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes and cook, stirring, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer the tomato mixture to the pot with the beans. Add the pork and 1 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Bring just to a boil; reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans and pork are tender, about 2 hours. (Add water to keep the pork covered, if needed.) Discard the bay leaves.
- Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings: Combine the masa harina, melted butter and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 to 2 cups warm water to make a soft dough. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, then press your thumb into each one to form a cup shape. Cover with plastic wrap until the chili is ready.
- Combine the remaining 2 smashed garlic cloves, the cilantro, lime juice, 1 1/2 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Stir the cilantro mixture into the chili. Gently add the dumplings (do not stir) and simmer until cooked through and firm, 30 to 35 minutes. Thin the chili with a splash of hot water, if needed. Ladle into bowls and top with cheese; serve with lime wedges and sour cream, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 635 |
| Total Fat | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 36 g |
| Cholesterol | 104 mg |
| Sodium | 763 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 635 |
| Total Fat | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 36 g |
| Cholesterol | 104 mg |
| Sodium | 763 mg |
Reviews
Hum yummy
Excellent flavor. This recipe is awesome!
Best Chili ever! I too substituted dried beans with canned. The dumplings turned out perfect for me . . . we just would have perferred fewer. The pork just melts in your mouth. SO GOOD!
I COULD NOT get the dumplings to work out. The best consistency I could achieve was like wet sand…nothing at all like a dough or anything that could hold a shape for long. So I did without. Sounds like others were having trouble too. Oh well.
This had good flavor, but I was disappointed in the dumpling. Maybe freezing the dumplings? or have some kind of binder to hold them together like a regular dumpling. I would try making them different next time, they kind of fell apart in the soup. Otherwise I followed it just as it said. It really does make a ton of soup.
This recipe is awesome! Takes a while to make but is more than worth the wait. Although making the masa dumplings would have been easy I had some store bought, premade masa that worked great.
I made for my family of three and love the amount of leftovers I have now and this will be on the menu the next time we have company.
I made for my family of three and love the amount of leftovers I have now and this will be on the menu the next time we have company.
Excellent flavor and texture. Unless you have a large crowd, consider reducing. It make a full dutch kettle and I have many portions freezing after feeding four of us for meals and leftovers.
As a full-time working single mother, obviously I dont have time to do this to a T. I improvised to cook in crockpot. *word to wise, dont use regular sized crockpot, this makes quite a lot, it came up barely to the rim* I subsituted dried beans with 3 cans of drained black beans. When I came home from work, I dumped the chili into large soup pot and brought it to boil, adding the cilantro-lime mixture and corn dumplings then reduced to a simmer. It came out fanastic, I really liked this chili very much. I definitely will make this again, probably adding beans when I come home for lunch break instead of in the morning because then beans become very mushy at end of the day.