ED'S CHICAGO COCOA CHILI
Source of Recipe
recipezaar
List of Ingredients
1 lb ground chuck (beef rules!)
1 lb ground sirloin or ground round (you can actually use any ground meat combination - turkey, chicken, italian sausage, etc.)
1 medium yellow sweet onions, chopped/diced (vidalia, oso, etc.)
1 sweet bell pepper, chopped/diced (any color)
2 stalks chopped celery
1 carrot, chopped or diced
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced or chopped (remove the seeds and membrane from one pepper)
2 (28.00 ounces) cans whole peeled tomatoes (or use the best tomatoes you can find)
1 can tomato paste
4-8 cloves garlic, smashed silly
salt and pepper, a few shakes here and there can't hurt
1/8-1/4 cup prepared sweet-and-sour mix, Mr. & Mrs. T's
orange juice, a splash
1 lime, juice of
THE KILLER COCOA CHILI SPICE MIX
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons chopped parsley or dried parsley
1 teaspoon cilantro, dried (or use a little less if you're using fresh cilantro)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Recipe
1. Assemble the mix into an airtight container ahead of time. Most of these ingredients are approximate. Seasonings must be to taste; you're shooting for the perfect SWEET,SALTY,SPICY combo.
2. CHOP ALL THE VEGGIES UP BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING ELSE.
3. Keep the garlic separate from the other veggies, and have your spice mix ready to go.
4. Inside a BIG, DEEP, REALLY DEEP cast iron pot, on HIGH HEAT, BROWN THE GROUND MEAT to about medium rare (You do not need to completely brown the meat, because it will continue to cook in the pot).
5. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Drain off or use the ladle to take out the excess fat, but leave some of it in the pot to fry the vegetables. If there is not enough fat left over, add a little sunflower, peanut, or canola oil at this time.
7. Push the meat to one side to make space to fry the vegetables and Reduce the heat to MEDIUM/HIGH.
8. On the empty side of the skillet, add the onions and the jalapenos, then add all the rest of the vegetables EXCEPT FOR THE GARLIC, DO NOT ADD THE GARLIC YET!
9. SAUTEE/FRY the veggies for a few minutes. Season the veggies lightly with salt and pepper.
10. Try to get the veggies on the bottom of the pan, and the meat on top of the veggies. It's kind of like a folding technique. You slowly add meat to the top of the veggies, then try to slide the veggies under the meat. This way the meat doesn't burn and the veggies get cooked. If you're freaking out about this, just take the meat out first (put it in a bowl), add the veggies to the bottom of the skillet, then add the meat back on top. I'm just trying to keep this a ONE-POT cooking experience.
11. Make a little space on the bottom of the pan.
12. Add the tomato paste (don't worry if you can't get the entire contents of the can out). Cook the paste for a minute, then mix everything in the pot together.
13. Add one can of tomatoes (stir and smash). Then drain most of the liquid from the second can, and add the rest of the tomatoes (stir and smash).
14. Season the tomatoes with a little salt.
15. Stir in the KILLER COCOA CHILI SPICE MIX.
16. Keep stirring, keep a very slow boil or a simmer.
17. Add Lime juice, Orange juice, and Sweet & Sour Mix.
18. STIR STIR STIR.
19. NOW YOU CAN ADD THE GARLIC!
20. Taste it (something not right? Fix it!).
21. If it's too hot or salty, add a little more brown sugar. If it's not salty enough, add a little more salt,'ya silly! Not hot enough for ya? Add more hot peppers, or a splash of tabasco hot sauce.
22. Set the heat to LOW.
23. Partially cover and simmer for about 5- 10 minutes.
24. TURN OFF THE HEAT.
25. Congratulations! You now have the best chili on the planet. You can keep this chili covered in the pot for hours.
26. Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and fritos corn chips or cornbread.
27. STORING THE CHILI: I like to put the chili in those Ziploc disposable/reusable containers. You can refrigerate or freeze the chili in them really easy. The chili reheats very well in the microwave. Refrigerated chili is probably good for a week. Frozen chili is probably good for months. The chili defrosts in about 2 days if moved from freezer to refrigerator.
28. AWESOME CHILI DOGS! Use all-beef hot dogs like Vienna Beef, Klement's or Nathan's. Other hot dogs do not deserve this chili.
29. NO BEANS? WHAT GIVES? As a big fan of chili, I've discovered that it's origins do not include beans. "Anyonewho knows beans about chili, knows that chili ain't got no beans! "Beans were added later, probably because beans are cheaper than meat. ...but BEANS ARE FREAKIN GASSY! I don't like gassy chili, and I'd hope you don't either. If you REALLY MUST HAVE BEANS, you can add a can of them to this recipe, it won't hurt the chili.
30. You can also substitute those soybean crumble things for the meat, but then remember to make sure you add some type of oil to fry the veggies.
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