Smoked Corn & Poblano White Chicken Chili
This chili does not turn out white but it is technically a “white chili” by definition because there’s no tomatoes in it. If I’m being real, I’m calling it a white chili is because more people search for that term. I wholeheartedly believe this is so much better than whatever preexisting notion of white chicken chili you currently hold that I almost feel bad calling it that but search engine optimization wins this time. Moving on, I’ve always wanted to write an impossibly long recipe with a story that goes on for nine pages for no reason and everyone just scrolls past it. What secrets are these bloggers hiding in plain sight? I don’t care, just tell me how to make a soufflé'! I could go on and on about how when I first moved to Sun Valley from Detroit I was hanging out with the wrong crowd and that kicked off a series of events that led me to buying an old smoker from my friend’s husband for $20, but I will save it for another time. I will say I’ve made way better friends since then but I still make this recipe from when I first started using my smoker. My clients ask for this white chili all the time. It really is like nothing you have ever had before, on another level delicious and I’m delighted to share it with you.
Equipment
enameled caste iron dutch oven or just a pot
wooden spoon
smoker
knife and cutting board
high speed blender
spatula
ladel
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts or 6-8 thighs (or a mix)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 onions
2 yellow and orangepeppers
1 stalk celery celery
2 tea spoons cumin
3-5 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
2 poblano peppers
4 ears of fresh corn
olive oil or avocado oil (this is not a safe space for seed oils)
2-3 qts home made chicken stock (don’t be lazy)
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or New Mexico chili powder if you cannot find
cojita and chopped cilantro for serving
Generously coat the corn and 1 poblano with oil and salt and smoke at 250-300 for at least an hour or until the poblano is cooked through but not burnt and the corn is golden brown on the outside. I use Pecan or Traeger blend on the open grates. When the corn is fully smoked, let it cool and carefully cut the kernels off the cob. I like to cut each cob in half first so I have a nice flat side to hold the cob down on the cutting board.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown in your dutch oven on high heat ,without cooking through, just to brown, in small batches on high heat with olive oil. Set aside on a plate.
3. Let dutch oven cool mostly and add a glug (this is the technical term) of oil and very lightly sautée diced onion, bell peppers, celery, 1 raw diced poblano and the smoked poblano (diced) with a generous pinch of salt. Don’t overcook the onion, let the magic happen inside the pot, or whatever the guy from the Office says. After the veg slightly sweated add in the cumin and coarselu grind in the garlic with a microplane zester. Very lightly sautee to just fragrant. Do not overcook the garlic.
4. Add the broth to the dutch oven to stop the sautéing of the garlic. Do not under any circumstances add the chicken or the black beans yet. Simmer.
5. Blend 2/3s of the corn kernels with with just enough broth and a few veggies from the pot (and salt to taste) to get the blender moving and create a perfect loose puree and add back to the pot using a spatula. Use broth and spin the blender to get every last bit of the puree out of the vitamin. Add the chicken and the black beans now with the remaining whole kernels of corn.
6. Mix in a teaspoon to start and a table spoon or more if you prefer very spicy of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce into the pot. Taste as you go and adjust to your level of spice preference.
7 Let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, take out and shred and add back into the pot. Season to taste and let simmer for at least an hour.
Serve with crumbled cojita and chopped fresh cilantro.
