Today’s recipe is a continuation from last week’s post because I still had some of that deliciously spicy chocolate habanero sauce left over. It was too spicy to eat as a salsa (yes even for me) so I decided to experiment with a version of a Caribbean chili using the slow cooker.

I’ve participated in a few chili competitions in the past and have always found the four, and five-alarm chili’s to be so spicy, they obliterate your tongue and you don’t taste any of the other ingredients.

What was surprisingly wonderful about adding the Caribbean hot sauce to the mix in this chili was you still tasted the pork, ground beef, and tomato base, but you also picked up a great smoky, tangy heat at the end. My mouth was burning when I finished my bowl, but it wasn’t an overpowering heat, it was just right.

The next chili competition I enter will be using this recipe!

Ingredients:

For the Caribbean Sauce:
10 cloves garlic, chopped
6 chocolate habanero peppers, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 cup vegetable juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1 lime, and 1orange

For the Chili:
1 pound ground sirloin
1 pound ground pork
1 can of great northern beans, rinsed
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 large can of tomato puree

Directions:

For the Caribbean Sauce:
1) Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

2) Taste, adjusting any seasoning and transfer half of the sauce to a clean jar. Keep refrigerated. The other half of the sauce will be used in the chili.

For the Chili:
1) Place all the chili ingredients into a slow cooker and mix in the Caribbean sauce.

2) Cook on low for 8 hours.

3) Serve the chili spooned into bowls, garnished with chopped cilantro and green onions.