During the week, recipes are all about speed and ease. But when the weekend rolls around, it’s time for cooking low and slow, proofing dough and overnight marinating, soaking and resting. It’s time for a project. Each month, Dan and Anne Marie Lodholz present The Weekend Project with the game plan, the shopping list and the recipes to ensure all that work and time is well worth your effort. First up: white bean chili with smoked chicken and homemade poblano chile paste. Growing up, Dan had to wait until Halloween to eat the first chili of the year. Now, we wait until the third Thursday of November, Nouveau Beaujolais Day. We host a big party to celebrate this French harvest festival and make a big batch of traditional red chili with beans (because, as the importers used to claim, everything goes with Nouveau Beaujolais!). As the party grew over the years, we added a white chili to the menu.
The white bean recipe evolved as a sort of yin-yang accompaniment to the red. Originally, we just used some canned jalapenos for the chile paste, but we found them a little too acidic, so he adapted Rick Bayless’ Essential Ancho Chile Paste recipe using poblano chiles. After all, ancho chiles are just dried, smoked poblano peppers.
Smoked poultry feasts are a family favorite on cold winter weekends. We start with a couple of smaller fowl or a turkey we find at a post-holiday sale and brine the bird Friday morning. Then, we grill or smoke the birds Friday night or Saturday for dinner and use the leftover meat to serve up a lazy pot of our favorite chili for Sunday supper. Whatever you do, don’t skip brining the bird. It helps the meat stay moist and hold its texture.
Though this recipe serves eight to 10, be sure make enough for leftovers. There is almost nothing better to stick to the bones on a cold Monday morning than a slinger made with leftover white chili and a sunny-side-up egg. That hearty breakfast makes deicing the car and driving to the office a little more manageable.
The Game Plan Day 1: Brine the chicken. Soak the beans. Make the poblano chile paste.
Day 2: Smoke the chicken. Make the chili.
The Shopping List*
2 oz. fresh thyme springs
1 cup bourbon
1 3½-to-5 lb. chicken
6 to 8 medium poblano peppers
2 to 3 whole cloves
2½ cups chicken stock
1 lb. navy beans
2 red or yellow bell peppers
*This list assumes you have kosher salt, sugar, freshly ground black pepper, a lemon, garlic, cumin, canola oil, dried oregano, an onion and white pepper at hand in your kitchen. If not, you will need to purchase these items, too.
Smoked Chicken
1 cup plus 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
½ cup sugar
2 oz. thyme sprigs
1 cup bourbon
1 3½-to-5 lb. chicken
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
• Day 1: Whisk 1 cup salt, the sugar, thyme sprigs, bourbon and 1 gallon of water in a large stockpot until the sugar and salt dissolve. Submerge the chicken in the brine and cover. Let marinade at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.
• Day 2: Remove the chicken from the brine. Use a sharp knife to split the chicken down the breastbone and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the chicken all over with 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper and the lemon zest.
• To smoke: Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees. Smoke the chicken 2 to 4 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the thigh reaches 165 degrees.
• To grill: Stack and light the charcoal. Once all coals are lit, push them to one of the grill. Cover the grill until it reaches 350 degrees. Place the meat skin-side down over indirect heat, with the breast toward the coals, and cover for 15 minutes. Rotate the chicken 180 degrees so the legs face the coals, cover and grill another 15 minutes. Flip the bird over and cook, covered, another 15 to 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the thigh reaches 165 degrees.
• Let the meat cool to room temperature. Pull the meat from the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces. Use for White Bean Chili (Recipe follows).
Poblano Chile Paste 6 to 8 medium poblano peppers
8 cloves garlic
Canola oil for poaching
1½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. cumin
2 to 3 cloves, ground
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1½ cups chicken stock
• Day 1: Preheat the broiler. Broil the peppers, turning occasionally, until the skin is blackened on all sides. Place the peppers in a paper bag and close tightly to steam, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the garlic in a small pot and cover with canola oil. Cook over medium-high heat until the oil bubbles and the cloves are tender but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Remove the skin and seeds from the peppers. Purée the peppers, garlic cloves, oregano, cumin, ground cloves, salt and pepper into a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the stock until it reaches a smooth, pasty consistence. Season to taste.
• Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store covered in the refrigerator and use for White Bean Chili (Recipe follows).
Smoked White Bean Chili 8 to 10 Servings
1 lb. dry navy beans
1 large onion, diced
2 red or yellow bell peppers, diced
2 to 3 lbs. smoked chicken (Recipe above.)
1 batch poblano chile paste (Recipe above.)
2 to 4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. white pepper
Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, or other desired garnishes
• Day 1: Place beans in a large pot and cover with several inches of water. Soak overnight.
• Day 2: Drain the beans and rinse. Return the beans to the pot and fill with enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Simmer the beans over medium heat until tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
• Add the onion, pepper, smoked chicken and poblano chile paste and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and other desired garnishes. Chili will keep refrigerated up to 10 days or frozen for 6 months.
-photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in January 2014.