This is the first part of my soups, stews and chowders series!
As the cooler weather starts to come to the Northeast, I really look forward to soups, stews, chowders. Chili is one of my favorites. I have used this recipe for years with little modification. I double and triple this recipe for big gatherings like football games, parties and office pot lucks.
What I really like is that you can add toppings and really customize the taste. You can turn this recipe into a meal by adding rice or crushed tortilla or Frito chips to the bottom of the bowl. You can top it with chopped onion, shredded cheese, sour cream or Mexican crema, cilantro, scallions, diced jalapeno or other hot peppers, etc. Make it your own!
Stick to your ribs beef chili
This chili has a little heat and can be easily modified to kick that up.
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 Large onion or two small onions
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 1-2 Jalapeno peppers
- 2 lbs 80/20 Ground beef
- 2 cups Water
- 12 oz Beer (I like a light beer like Negro Modelo or Corona)
- ½ cup Chili powder
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- ½ tbsp Mexican oregano
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
- 8 oz Can of tomato sauce
- 2-3 Chipotle peppers in adobe
- 12 oz Can of beans light or dark pinto, or black
Slurry
- 2 tbsp Masa harina
- ¼ cup Water
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium high heat.
- Once beef is browned, remove the beef from the pot and drain most of the oil. Leave some of the fat to cook the onions.
- Dice onions into ¼-½ inch pieces.
- Cook onions in the pot until they are soft.
- Crush or mince garlic.
- Add garlic to pot once the onions are soft, cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, do not burn the garlic.
- Add beef back to the pot.
- Add 2 cups of water and the bottle of beer and stir.
- Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper and stir in.
- Cut the tops off of the jalapenos and cut them in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and ribs using a spoon.
- Dice the jalapenos finely and add them to the chili.
- Take 2-3 chipotle peppers from the can of chipotle peppers in adobo and dice them into ½" dice.
- Add the diced peppers and ⅓ of the adobo sauce to the pot and stir.
- Turn down the temperature and simmer the chili for 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally.
- After simmering, add ¼ cup of water to the masa harina in a small bowl and mix it with a spoon to form a slurry.
- Turn the temperature on the pot up to medium high and add the slurry.
- Stir the pot and wait for it to boil, let the pot boil for a 2 to 3 minutes to thicken the chili.
- Add one can of beans to the chili.
- Turn the pot down to low and simmer for another 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
The leftover chipotle peppers and adobo sauce can be placed in a zip lock bag and frozen for use in the future.
This recipe can be turned into a meal by adding rice or crushed tortilla or Frito chips to the bottom of the bowl. It can be topped with chopped onion, shredded cheese, sour cream or Mexican crema, cilantro, scallions, diced jalapeno or other hot peppers, etc. Make it your own!
