Pressure Cooker White Chili with Chicken

Talking to myself about White Chicken Chili as I get ready for my super bowl party...

What's that in the pressure cooker?

White chili.

White chili? What does that mean?

White chili means no red allowed. No red beans, no red chilies, no chili powder, no tomatoes.

No red? That's crazy talk. What's in it?

Chicken, white beans, spices, chicken stock, and lots of green chilies.

What in tarnation? Chicken? You call that mess chili! Reach for your iron, you lily livered, kale eating son of a donkey!

Whoa! Hey! Easy there, Tex. Here, try some.

Sorry, I get a little cranky when I'm hungry. I should eat something...oh, all right, pass it over. Hey! This tastes great! Do you have any more?

Here's a bowl. Stir in a few shakes of chipotle sauce, it adds a nice, smoky heat.

Now, wait just a darned minute! You said no red stuff!

I did, didn't I. Well, try some green habanero sauce instead. That is, if you can stand the heat.

You calling me a wimp? Give me that bottle.

Here's a napkin. You're dribbling.

Thanks.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker White Chili with Chicken

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Equipment

• 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I used my Instant Pot electric PC)

Ingredients

Brined beans

• 1 pound dried great northern beans, sorted and rinsed
• 2 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons table salt (or 4 tablespoons kosher salt)

Chicken

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Aromatics

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

First batch of spices

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Liquids

• 1/2 cup beer
• 16 ounces canned chopped green chiles
• 4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
• 1 cup water

2nd batch of spices

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Sort, rinse, and brine the beans

At least 8 hours before cooking, sort the great northern beans, removing broken beans, stones, and dirt clods. Rinse the beans, put them in a large container, cover with 1/4 cup salt and 3 quarts water, and stir to dissolve the salt. Let the beans soak for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Drain and rinse the beans.

2. Brown half the chicken on one side

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Add half the chicken to the pot (or as much as you can in a loose single layer), and put the rest aside in a bowl. Let the chicken sit in the pot without moving until it is nicely browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Remove the browned chicken and add it to the bowl with the raw chicken.

3. Saute the aromatics, toast the spices

Add another 1 tablespoon of oil to the pressure cooker pot and let it heat up for a minute. Add the onion and jalapeno, then sprinkle with the 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Saute the onions and jalapeno, scraping the browned bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Make a hole in the middle of the onions and add the first batch of spices. Let the spices sit until you can smell the garlic cooking, about 1 minute, then stir into the onions.

4. Add everything to the pot

Add the beer to the pot and let it come to a boil. Stir in the the chicken, plus any juices in the bowl, then the beans, green chiles, chicken stock, and water.

5. Pressure cook the chili

Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, increase the heat to high, and bring the cooker up to high pressure. (Read the fine pressure cooker manual for how this works with your particular cooker). Reduce the heat to maintain the pressure, and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes (18 minutes in an electric PC). Turn off the heat, and quick release the pressure in the cooker. Remove the lid carefully, opening away from you - even when it's not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is very hot.
*Or cook under pressure for 12 minutes (15 minutes in an electric PC), then turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally for about 15 minutes. Quick release any remaining pressure.

6. Add the second batch of spices, season, serve

Stir the second batch of spices into the pot, and bring the pot to a simmer. (Don't lock the lid.) Taste the chili for seasoning, and add salt, pepper, and more lime juice if needed. Serve the chili.

Notes

• Apologies to Terry Pluto for borrowing his "Talking to myself" style.
• Thanks to Kenji Alt for the brown half the cubes on one side technique.
• Depending on the age of the beans, I will get some "floaters" - shriveled beans that float on top of the liquid and don't soften while cooking. I scoop them from the top of the chili and discard. (This happens less with beans from my local health food store, where they have a good turnover in their bulk section.)
• I don't have many choices here in Ohio when it comes to green chiles. If you can find fire roasted canned chiles, or Hatch chiles, get them. I've heard that fire roasted chiles are sold in the fee ezer case out West. If you can get them, use them instead of canned.
• No pressure cooker? No worries. Cook the recipe in a dutch oven instead of a pressure cooker. The ingredients are the same, but increase the water in the liquids section to 4 cups. Instead of the "pressure cook the chili" step, bring the chili to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, then cook for 1 1/2 hours, partially covered. Add the second batch of spices, then simmer until the beans are tender, about 15 more minutes.
• No time to brine the beans? Sort and rinse the beans, then add them to the pot, pressure cook on high for 35 minutes, and quick release the pressure. The chicken will be a bit overcooked, and fall apart in the chili, but it still tastes great.

What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts

Pressure Cooker Turkey Chili with Chorizo and Pinto Beans
Pressure Cooker Pork Chili with Beans
My Other Pressure Cooker Recipes

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