Smoky Slow Cooker Chili - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
1 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups chopped onions
1 3/4 cups chopped green bell peppers
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beer, lager-style
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
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 (12 1/2 ounce) cans plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, no-salt, drained
1 (7 3/4 ounce) can mexican hot tomato sauce
1 smoked ham hock, about 8 oz
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco, about 2 oz
8 lime wedges

Preparation

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray.
Add ground pork and cook for 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well and transfer to slow cooker.
Recoat skillet with cooking spray. Add pork shoulder and cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer pork to slow cooker.
Recoat skillet with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper, and saute 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add garlic, saute 1 minute, then add tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in beer, cook a minute or two, then pour all over the meat in the slow cooker.
Add 1/4 tsp salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, tomatillos, bay leaves, tomatoes, pinto beans, tomato sauce and ham hock to the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours until meat is tender or on LOW for 8 hours.
Remove and discard ham hock and bay leaves.
Add 1/4 tsp salt and the sugar, stir well.
Top each serving with 1 tbl each of cilantro, green onions and queso fresco. Serve with a lime wedge.
This can also be done on the stove, using 12 ozs beer and simmering, covered, for 2 1/2 to3 hours or until the pork is tender.