My Hybrid Chili Recipe (I'm No Chef)

I'm no chef, I'm far from it, but I do like to try different recipes, season/marinate and grill any meat that will go on the grill, actually I like to cook anything that will go on the grill period.  Either way a couple weeks ago a few friends came over and I made some chili to serve as game food for the NFC/AFC Championship games.  They could have been lying but everyone had good reviews for the chili  Again, I'm no chef so I took three recipes mashed them together to create on finished product.  This wasn't my first time making chili  and the next time the recipe won't be the same but here you go.

I started with Rachael Ray's Manly Chili Recipe and doubled most of the ingredients.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Makes 2 quarts, up to 6 bowlfuls

2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 lbs ground sirloin

Montreal Steak Seasoning or coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

1/2 bottle beer (6 oz)

1 can (14 oz) beef broth

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1-1/2 tablespoons dark chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 oz smoky BBQ sauce

2 oz Frank’s Red Hot or other cayenne pepper sauce (about 3 tablespoons)

chopped raw onions, for garnish (optional)

Corn tortilla chips, for dipping

Heat oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, till onions are soft. Add ground beef and brown, another 3-5 minutes. Season meat and onions lightly with Montreal seasoning or salt and pepper. Add beer and let it reduce by half. Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, smoky BBQ sauce and cayenne pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with shredded smoked cheddar cheese and chopped raw onions and corn chips.

I also used some of what I learned from my Step Father's Chili Recipe, most by taste recall, and some by him trying to tell me what he uses off the top of his head.

Last but not least I used some of the ingredients and instructions that I got from my homeboy +Chris Simms recipe for "Dogg's Beef and Pork Chili"

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 cup beer (recommended: Budweiser)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (24-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (24-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 Chipotle Chili in Adobo sauce, chopped
Sour cream, for garnish
Shredded Cheddar, for garnish
Sliced scallions, for garnish
Directions

In large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, cook garlic, onions, bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder, oregano, and smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the vegetables are tender and seasonings are aromatic. Add the beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once beef is broken up and beginning to brown, add the pork. Break up with wooden spoon like the beef, and brown, until no longer pink, roughly 4 minutes. Stir in the beer and beans. Toss together, then add the crushed and diced tomatoes, chipotle pepper, and a little adobo sauce. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary. Transfer the chili to serving bowls and garnish with lime wedges, sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced scallions.

Sounds like a lot of work huh?  Nope, making chili is pretty much whatever you want it to be, whatever flavors you like, its cooking by taste.  Cook it, stir it, let it simmer, taste, add what you think is missing.  Here are the pictures of my process and ingredients.  I just put it all in the pot and let the heat and stirring spoon do the rest.  This batch was intended to be more sweet than spicy because of the possibility of kids eating some of it.

Started with a lot of chopping and dicing, with I suck at, but it was all worth it.  I browned (and seasoned) all the meat in a separate pan before adding it to the pot with the rest of the stuff.

Smoked Sausage cut up small enough so that they don't steal the show.  I used pork, but beef sausage or turkey would be fine here as well.

White Onion, Green Onions, and Garlic

Celery.  Next time Red, Green, and Yellow Peppers will go in at the same time as the celery.

Salt, Pepper, and Montreal Steak seasonings. 

Brown and Season the Beef. The other ingredients are getting to know each other in the pot.

 Beer, it makes everything better. I went with a light lager made by Yuengling. 

Diced Tomatoes made for chili, kidney beans, tomato paste, canned corn (not the sweet corn), beef broth, and the star of the show...Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

 I cooked, simmered, stirred, tasted, and seasoned more until I felt the chili was the taste and thickness that I was going for.

Chili Power, Chili Sauce, and Ground Cumin.  I made sure not to have a heavy hand with these.

Simply and easy, and easy to personalize.  I can't wait for the next spell of cold days or possible snow to come through so I can do it all over again and add more ingredients and spices to it.  I think I want more corn, more peppers and more fire for the next time.