Chili, the all American comfort food. My recipe is absolutely loaded with flavor while keeping with the very approachable flavor that we know and love in chili.
This super simple stovetop recipe can also be made in a crock pot over a longer period of time, but I will say that it just doesn’t hit the way a stovetop chili does. The reason being that you are not browning the meat and creating that maillard flavor of seared beef when you just use a slow cooker. So by searing the meat and cooking the onions and peppers a little at a higher heat at first, you are creating deeper and more complex flavors.
Now I am not saying to never use the crock pot to make chili. It creates a very tasty and easy one pot meal when you have a busy life. And you can still create depth in flavor in a croc pot. Just in a different way. Personally, I like to add a mild beer like a Guinness. Any non-hopped or minimally hopped beer will work. If you go too hoppy on the beer you will get a bitter flavor in the end.
For the chili
But jumping back to this recipe. It is the perfect dish to cozy up with on a chilly night. Pun intended. And it pairs extremely well with a nice homemade cornbread, biscuit, or in my fiancés opinion some classic tortilla chips. Funny enough, while looking through cookbooks for information on other chili dishes, that is how they serve it in The Joy Of Cooking. Add some toppings like cheese, scallions, diced onions, or sour cream and your having a perfect meal!
To cook the chili, start by placing a medium sized pot on the stove over medium heat. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of it and allow to fully heat up.
Now add your ground beef and break apart to allow it to brown.
I highly recommend not seasoning your beef with dry spices before doing this as many people prefer to. Due to browning your meat you run the risk of creating burned flavors by introducing the spices to a high heat.
Remove the beef from the heat and pour into a strainer in the sink to remove the fat.
Place the pot back on the heat and add the onions, peppers, and celery with a bit more oil and a teaspoon of salt. Stir until the onions have become a little translucent. Deglaze with the red wine.
Add the ground beef back to the pot along with the tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, kidney beans, salt, and water. Allow it to come up to a boil and reduce heat to a medium low setting.
Now add the paprika, clove, chili powder, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, and sugar. Make sure that you are at a nice simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.
Let the it be: relax and have a drink
Once your liquid level has reduced significantly down to a nice classic chili look, you are done!
Basic chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion
- 2 bell peppers diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh picked thyme
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp oregano
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- To cook the chili, start by placing a medium sized pot on the stove over medium heat. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of it and allow to fully heat up.
- Now add your ground beef and break apart to allow it to brown.
- I highly recommend not seasoning your beef with dry spices before doing this as many people prefer to. This is because when browning your meat you run the risk of creating burned flavors by introducing the spices to a high heat.
- Remove the beef from the heat and pour into a strainer in the sink to remove the fat.
- Place the pot back on the heat and add the onions, peppers, and celery with a bit more oil and a teaspoon of salt. Stir until the onions have become a little translucent. Deglaze with the white wine.
- Add the ground beef back to the pot along with the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, kidney beans, salt, and water. Allow it to come up to a boil and reduce heat to a medium low setting.
- Now add the paprika, clove, chili powder, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, and sugar. Make sure that you are at a nice simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Once your liquid level has reduced significantly down to a nice classic chili look, you are done!