Chili 1.0

Idea Behind Recipe

My cousin came over the other day for family dinner, which happened to be corned beef and cabbage (I would do a blog on corned beef, but it’s honestly simple enough that there is not enough content to even fill a blog post.). We got into a discussion about growing up in the midwest, and the overabundance of casseroles and goulashes. I at least grew up on a diet of casseroles, Hamburger/Tuna Helper, chili, and overcooked chicken/pork. I think for many others growing up in Indiana we have fond memories of family dinners and casseroles. For many of us, casseroles were a cheap dinner, and full of starch or pasta to help stretch it out.

One of my favorites growing up was my parent’s chili that I still make a version probably once a month. I have also made it for cold winter trips to my inlaws property in Vermont. It’s very easy, and for me at least it is almost never the same because I am always finding a way to experiment with it. I like all chilis whether they are beef, chicken, pork, vegetarian, etc. I like them with beans and without beans, and with cheese and onions. I like sweeter chilis as well as chili that makes you sweat so bad you could run outside and jump in the snow. I don’t think there are any rules when making a chili, and that’s what makes it fun.

Being from the midwest there is an unspoken requirement that all meals have to have a potato or some sort of noodle/pasta. So when my wife and I first started dating and I made chili she was very confused when I asked her to pick up macaroni noodles for the chili. To me, this was a pretty normal thing, and I didn’t think anything of it. Growing up places like Steak n Shake and Skyline Chili served chili with either macaroni ou noodles or spaghetti noodles, so it was just a normal thing growing up in the midwest.

Process

There is only one sure thing that needs to be done first when making chili, and that is to brown your protein of choice. I usually use 2 pounds of ground beef, but if I happen to have some leftover pulled pork or sausage/chorizo I will go ahead and throw that in as well. I usually brown it in my cast iron pan along with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, and either brown sugar/honey/maple syrup. Once the meat is done I then cook up an onion, and once the onions are translucent I add in some minced garlic for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. I then transfer everything to my large pot.

From here it’s really up to you on what you want to include. I like to chop up a couple of red/orange/green peppers to give it a little bit of color and texture. I then add in a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, and mix to incorporate everything. Lately, I have been adding in a couple of chipotle peppers along with a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce that comes in the cans of chipotle peppers. I then adjust the seasoning as needed because the peppers will add some heat, sweetness, and smokiness.

The last ingredients to add would be your beans if you’re into that kind of thing. If you are aiming for a texas type chili go ahead and leave out the beans. I like to add in a mixture of beans including black, pinto, and kidney beans but feel free to experiment with whatever beans you like. If you are using dry beans make sure you soak them overnight. If you are using canned beans make sure you get a good drain going before adding the beans to your chili.

The only thing left is to let the chili simmer for about an hour to make sure all the spices are incorporated into everything ensuring you do a taste test to check if more seasoning is necessary.

When serving I like to chop up some fresh sweet onion and green onion, and of course a healthy dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of meat (any mix of ground beef/pork/chicken/chorizo/etc.)
• 28 oz can of crushed or stewed tomatoes
• 1 sweet onion
• 2 bell peppers of different colors
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Chili powder/chipotle powder
• Brown sugar/Honey/Maple Syrup

Lessons Learned

Make sure throughout the process to constantly check your seasoning level. I purposely don’t put exact measurements because it should all be done to taste. You want to be able to taste all of the different spices in every bite, but not be overwhelmed. If your chili turned out a little spicier than you wanted you can always mellow it out with sour cream. To prevent overheating your chili I would go light on the chili powder until the chipotle peppers cook down and incorporate, and then season to taste.