Email to Cat      

Championship Chili

Source of Recipe

From "The Tailgater's Cookbook" by David Joachim


Recipe Introduction

"I developed this chili for my buddy Dale Mack years ago. He's been serving it at games ever since. Dale sometimes uses ground turkey instead of beef. I've even made the chili with crumbled veggie burgers for vegetarians. You choose your favorite protein. Either way, this New Mexican-style beef-and-bean chili rocks. Dale claims it's even helped the Cowboys to beat the Eagles."

List of Ingredients

◦  1 pound ground chuck
◦  2 medium onions, chopped
◦  4 cloves garlic, chopped
◦  2 medium carrots, chopped
◦  2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
◦  2 to 4 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
◦  2 cans (28 ounces each) chopped tomatoes (with juice)
◦  4 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
◦  2 cups beer
◦  Juice of 2 fresh limes
◦  ½ to 1 cup water, as needed
◦  2 Tbsp chili powder
◦  1 Tbsp ground cumin
◦  1 Tbsp dried oregano
◦  1 tsp salt
◦  ½ tsp ground black pepper
◦  ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
◦  Hot pepper sauce to taste


Recipe

◦  Before You Go:

The night before: Cook beef in large soup pot over medium heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove beef to bowl and drain off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan. Add onions, garlic, carrots, bell peppers, and jalapeño peppers to fat in pan. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes (with juice) and cook 5 minutes. Add beans, beer, lime juice, ½ cup of the water, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, black pepper, and reserved beef.

Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until nice and thick, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Cover and chill in refrigerator or cooler.


◦  When You Get There:

Reheat chili over medium-low heat. When reheated, if chili gets too thick, add more beer and/or water. If it's too thin, raise heat to medium and cook until thickened. Keep warm over low heat.

Scatter on cilantro and hot pepper sauce to taste.


◦  Neighborly Tips:

∙ For Vegetarian Black Bean Chili, replace the beef with frozen vegetarian burger crumbles and cook the crumbles in 1 tablespoon olive oil in the soup pot. Proceed with the recipe as directed.

∙ You could make this chili the morning of the tailgate if you have time. To transport it warm, wrap it in two layers of foil - then in a thick towel. It should stay warm for 2 hours. Reheat at the game.

∙ For a Chili Cheese Dog: Grill up your favorite frank, stuff it in a bun, and top with some of this chili and some shredded Cheddar cheese.


Makes 10 to 12 servings