hearty rainy day chili
I love rainy days. They're super relaxing and I just want to curl up with a book and a comfort food meal. Soup is always my go-to, but the Man Friend sometimes wants something a little heartier...so we compromise with chili.
I've made some really bad batches before. However, the bad batch that really stands out in my mind is when I dumped 1/4 cup of Penzey's dried minced garlic into the pot. I'd forgotten that it didn't have a shaker lid on the container. Don't get me wrong - I love garlic. But what I did was essentially the equivalent to 48 cloves of garlic. Whoops.
Chili tastes better when two things happen: (1) it's slow cooked and/or (2) it's eaten the next day. Some foods just need time to let the flavors come together and chili is at the top of that list. This chili becomes more flavorful when you can throw it in a slower cooker for at least 5 hours, so I popped a batch into my vintage avocado green Crock Pot. My mom still has the one she received as a wedding gift 30 some-odd years ago and she bought me my very own for Christmas last year - and I use the shit outta that thing.
Another surprise ingredient - good, medium-bodied beer. Seriously. Forget water when you can make it boozy! You have to cautious when picking your brew choice. Nothing with weird mango or vanilla flavors and nothing too light. The purpose is to provide almost an effervescent texture to the chili. It totally makes a difference. Trust me...I drink a lot of beer.
hearty rainy day chili
prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 3-5 hours
experience level: easy-peasy | specialty: soups & stews
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef, at least 90/10
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, sliced thin
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 28-oz no salt added crushed tomatoes
- one 15-oz can no salt added kidney beans
- one 15-oz can no salt added black beans
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/4 kosher salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper, optional (if you used hot chili powder like I did, leave this out!)
- 12 oz beer, amber or dark (I used Shiner Bock)
- Optional toppings: chopped onions, shredded cheese, corn chips, tortilla chips, sour cream, oyster crackers, or cornbread
Heat a very large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground meat to brown. About halfway through the cooking process, add the diced onions to the meat. Once the beef is cooked through and the onions have softened, add the garlic and cook for about one minute.
Mist a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. While the beef and onions are cooking, add the tomatoes, beans, and seasonings. Gently mix to stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula.
When the beef and onion mixture is ready, drain off any grease and blot the meat with a paper towel. Transfer the meat from the skillet to the slow cooker. Carefully pour the beer over all of the ingredients - the carbonation will cause it to fizz and possibly overflow. Once the bubbles go down, stir the ingredients to mix well.
Cook on low for 3-5 hours, stirring occasionally. Spoon into bowls and add your favorite toppings - I'm a Fritos and cheese girl, myself!
Pro Tip 1: You can substitute ground turkey instead of beef for a lighter chili. You can also opt for half ground meat and half cubed (like stew meat) - however, you'll have to brown the stew meat pieces separately and increase the amount of ground meat to 1 1/4 pounds.
Pro Tip 2: I needed to add more salt to mine. If you implement the whole "you can always add but you can't take away" approach to cooking like I do, you may find that it needs more salt.
Pro Tip 3: If you choose to speed up the process and skip the slow cooker, use a Dutch oven or a 8-quart stockpot instead. Keep at a simmer for at least an hour.
