The Slopper

If you have never heard of or seen the slopper, well, you are in for something good. I first learned of the slopper from a conversation with one of my colleagues. During the week, there is always conversations surrounding technology, kids, and food. One of the reasons I love my job is that not only do I work with people I like, and trust, and at the end of the day, care for, but also those daily conversations. Most everyone in the office is a ‘foodie’, most likely because they are the cooks of the house and looking for creative ideas and comforting recipes. So a few years back, the slopper came into one of those conversations. As I learned more, I decided to take my chance at making this chili mixture, only to be served on top of a burger. Yes, you heard me right.

At first sight you might think to yourself, no way in hell am I going to like that, but let me tell you, this smothered burger is a thing of beauty, and whomever created this is a real genius. Rumor has it that this creation started in Colorado by a customer who stated the dish looked like slop. Take a look above. It’s not the prettiest thing you will see, but man oh man is this ever delicious. A red, pork chili ladled on top of a full blown burger, this slopper will have you second guessing with every bite.

Ingredients:

• 2 poblano peppers
• 4 cubanelle peppers
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 whole onion, diced
• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 lb pork shoulder, cubed
• 1/2 lb ground chuck
• 1 sturdy hamburger bun
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

Start by adding your whole peppers to a roasting pan, and drizzle with one tablespoon of the oil. Use your hands and massage the peppers. Once the oven is preheated, place the roasting pan into the oven, and roast the peppers until their flesh is nice and dark, about 15-20 minutes. Once the chilies are roasted, place them in a bowl, and cover them with a plate for another 5 minutes, or so. Remove the skin from the peppers, toss them away, then chop the flesh.

Next, heat a large pot on medium heat with the remaining oil. Toss in the onions and garlic, and let them sweat for a few minutes.

Toss in the pork, cumin, oregano, and a bit of salt and pepper. Give a good stir. Cook for five minutes then toss in the canned tomatoes, along with the peppers and stock. Give another good stir.

Bring this up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let cook for 2 hours.

Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl, then drizzle this into the pork stew, stirring along the way.

Next, if you have a stick blender, put it into the pot and give the pork chili a good few zips of the blender. This will break up the pork and thicken the chili. If you do not have a hand blender, ladle some into a food processor or blender, and pulse a few times, adding it back into the pot. Remember though that when adding hot liquids to a blender to add more pressure to the lid with your hand, coated with a towel. The last thing you want is chili on the ceiling.

You are almost there.

Now it’s time to make the burger.

Form a patty and generously season with salt and pepper.

Preheat a cast iron skillet. Add the patty to a cast iron skillet, getting a nice sear on the patty. Cook for a few minutes, undisturbed, then flip. Cook the burger to your desired temperature.

When you are ready to plate, get a serving bowl out. Add the burger to your hamburger bun, and place in the bottom of the bowl. Basically you have a burger in a bowl. Weird, right?

Top with the shredded cheese, then ladle in copious amounts of the chili.

This is a fork and knife burger people, so get in, cut yourself a nice big bite, and repeat.  This burger is a thing of beauty. You get the awesome chili mixture along with the well seasoned burger. It’s great, it’s really, really great. So the next time you are thinking of making a batch of chili, give this one a shot, and don’t forget to add an extra burger to complet that slopper!