Killer Chicken Chili Crock Pot Variation

This is the Crock pot variation on a low and slow chili recipe I came up with by accident because I had some lightly freezer burned Chicken breasts. It's fork thick and med hot. Do add more heat to the chicken marinade and cut back a bit on the heat in the chili proper. If you don't like garbanzos leave them out, OK??

• Ready In: 6 hrs 20 mins
• Yields: 2 1/2 Quarts

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 lbs chicken thigh pieces, chunked and marinade overnight in a
•  hot smokey barbecue sauce
• 2  links  skinless breakfast sausage, in 1 inch pieces (optional)
• 1 (32 ounce) can pinto beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (optional)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans
• 2  medium yellow onions

• spices

• 1⁄2 teaspoon mild chili powder
• 3⁄4 teaspoon cumin
• 1  chipotle pepper (mashed or chopped up fine (from the can)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1  teaspoon liquid smoke or 1  teaspoon  mesquite powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  crushed black peppercorns
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1  tablespoon brown sugar (heaping)
• 1⁄4 cup cider vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup water
• 1  teaspoon  fine grits (optional) or 1  teaspoon cornmeal (optional) or 1  teaspoon masa harina flour, if you've got it (optional)

Directions

1. Cut up the thigh meat into fork sized chunks and marinade over night in the BBQ sauce, I used the Seminole Gold#32345.
2. Put the chicken chunks and the optional sausage on a tray in a 350 oven till the chicken is cooked through, 20 min or so, and set aside.
3. Put all the beans{drained} in the Crock pot.
4. I like to mix my beans both for the color and the tastes, but it's not necessary.
5. I like the garbanzos some don't.
6. Rough chop 1 onion add now.
7. Bash the spices down to the Tomato Paste add now.
8. Mix water vinegar and Tomato paste add now.
9. Put the crock pot on high for a couple hours.
10. Add the chicken and optional sausage.
11. Put the crock pot on Med.
12. If it's sloppy in the pot add the grits or Masa and mix in, this is intended as a thick almost FORK EATIN chili.
13. If it gets too thick add a wee bit of water or chicken stock.
14. After 2 to 3 hours or so on medium add the second Onion chopped fine.
15. Give it another hour or so on Med and Dish up.
16. This freezes well.