White Chicken Chili

This is by far one of my favorite dishes. Don't get me wrong, very little beats the fine satisfaction of a bowl of traditional beef/bean/tomato based chili. I must admit however, the first time I had white chicken chili was one of the best surprises I can think of. I'm sure white chili has the same "rules" that traditional chili has, depending who is making it. It seems like every chili cook has "the best recipe." Heres one of mine.



I have made this version of white chicken chili before for my friends at Surroundings Candle Factory & Fine Cigars in Manistee.

Whenever I've shared this it's been a hit so I figured I'd share it on the food blog.




To keep things simple and cheap, I used one of the pre-cooked rotisserie chickens available at nearly every grocery store. For $5.99 (which is sometimes less that a RAW chicken) this is a great route for the chili, or any soup making.





This starts out like the chicken noodle soup. Pour some water over it and boil it down.







One thing I did here (differently from the chicken noodle) is add some chicken bouillon powder. This "Caldo de Pollo" is available in the ethnic foods area. I like it because it doesn't have MSG's and its not too salty and it makes great broth. It will only add to the flavor as long as you don't add too much. Mix it according to package instructions, 1 tsp per 8 oz of water.






Cover, bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about 2 hrs.





While that's simmering, get the rest of your things together. Two big jars of great northern beans, a red pepper, a red onion, salsa, Ro-Tel, creamed corn, pepperjack cheese, kernel corn and sour cream.



Dice up the onion and pepper. Set aside while you take care of your now boiled down chicken.



Remove all the meat and bones from the stock. Put it in the fridge to cool. Strain the stock to make sure no bone bits make it into the chili.

Return the now strained stock to the pan. Check the strainer for delicious meat bits.

Now add the following:

Drained Ro-Tel, then top it off with salsa to equal a total of about 16oz.

Usually I use 8oz of sweet canned corn. I didn't have any so I used frozen corn instead. It works just fine too.

Diced red onion

Diced red pepper

One can of cream style corn (I think this was 14.5oz)

Stir it and bring to a simmer again to cook the veggies. While its heating add the spices.

About 1 TBSP of minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp of coarse ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp of chili powder

1 1/2 TBSP of ground cumin

Give a stir and check the veggies to see if they're cooked.

Once the veggies are cooked add both jars of beans (These were 48oz ea.)

While letting all that heat up and simmer, pick through your now cooled chicken. It takes time but if you're meticilous, there's alot of meat. After making sure there's no bones add it to the pot.

Grate the 1 pound (16oz) package of pepperjack cheese. Add it to the chili slowly one handful at a time while stiring continuously. If you dump it all in at once it will be a clumpy mess of globby cheese chunks. Take the time to stir it in slowly.

This will help thicken and add some zing. This isn't breath taking fire-hot chili, just enough to let you know there's a kick to it.

Now that the cheese is a melted, add the sour cream (16oz) and stir until smooth again.

Now Dish it up, and ENJOY! This will make about 8-10 qts. If you don't need that much then half the recipe. I bet you'll go through it quicker than you think.

Ingredients List

• (1) whole chicken
• water
• "Caldo de Pollo" or you own favorite bouillion
• (2) 48oz jars of great northern beans
• (1) can of Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies plus you favorite salsa to total 16oz
• 16oz of pepperjack cheese
• 16 oz of sour cream
• (1) red onion
• (1) red bell pepper
• (1) can of cream style corn
• whole corn, canned or frozen
• ground cumin
• coarse ground black pepper
• chili powder
• minced garlic