This is a bit of a mishmash. For one thing, I have been trying to develop a chili kit, and it's getting close. The model is the historical San Antonio Chili Queens recipe.
Beyond that, I have a large family, and typically I'm feeding 6 adults and a child nightly. I have to make concessions and cook in bulk from time to time.
So, last week I decided to see if I could braise a pork butt in a manner that would render it a good base for a variety of dishes -- Italian bolognese, Texas Red chili, southern BBQ, Mexican carnitas. I settled on a basic seasoning of salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano, as all of those ingredients are fairly common to the dishes I referenced. I figured I could freeze 1.5# - 2# bags of the braised pork and then use them as a base in any number of different ways.
Run #1 was today -- Texas Red chili. I thawed 1.5# of my frozen pork base, bloomed 2/3 cup of my chili seasoning in 1/2 cup of grapeseed oil, heated the seasoning slowly in a Dutch oven, added 3 cups of water and the thawed pork, simmered for about 90 minutes while Texas tried to throw the game against Baylor, and voila! (wallah!) I had a pot of porkalicious Texas Red.
This is good chili. Ugly, but good. Not being satisfied to just eat a couple of bowls, I made some chili nachos, with shredded block sharp cheddar and fresh pico de gallo. Man, I am full.