So, my wife caught something on the airplane back from her trip last week and was nice enough to share it with the group. As such, I am digging back into the archives and resurfacing an article published way back in 2017. Since she was nice enough to share her cold, I will be nice enough to share her award-winning chili recipe. Enjoy! (Ignore the 2017 weather report, though the description of the cold is still spot on.)
It's a cold, damp, and rainy spring day outside today. The kind of day that I know is necessary for a lush green summer but still not the type of day that is all that fun to live through. Especially when you are sick with a cold. I have the kind of cold that affects the upper respiratory. So, of course, that means no fun tastings either.
But wait! There is one thing that would be perfect on a day like today, a big bowl of Chili. I talked to my wife about it and she was gracious enough to share her secret and award-winning (office chili cook-off winner is an award, right?) recipe with you fine folks.
Bourbon and Beer Chili
Ingredients
1 bottle of beer – Heavy stouts or hoppy IPAs both work nicely, Stouts make for a sweeter finished product.
4 oz of bourbon – Make it something you like to drink. We use Old Grand-Dad 114 or Wild Turkey 101. The sweeter the bourbon, the sweeter the chili will be.
1 pound of stew meat – we use beef or venison
1 pound of Italian sausage
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves of minced garlic
12-ounce can of tomato paste
2 – 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce
2 cups of beef stock
2 cans of chili beans (We use 1 spicy Bush’s and 1 of the Black chili beans)
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of Cocoa powder
2 tablespoons Chili powder (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon of Mexican Oregano
1 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper
2 Dried Chipotle and 1 Dried Serrano Peppers – chopped or otherwise broken up. (We grow our peppers. Then we dry and smoke the jalapenos into chipotles or just dry the serranos.)
Instructions
Start boiling the beer and bourbon in an 8-quart stock pot.
In a large skillet, brown the meat. It helps to do the Italian sausage first and then the stew meat. Add to the pot.
Brown the onions and garlic in the skillet you used for the meat. Add butter or oil if needed. Add to the pot.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Feel free to add any other spices you like in Chili.
Heat until boiling and then simmer for at least a half hour for the flavors to meld.
This is better reheated the next day so prepare it the day before.
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