Angela’s Perfect Chili

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Spicy Chili

This chili recipe is quite busy, but worth the effort! It's an older one and calls for some specific ingredients; I've tried to offer substitutions when I can.
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword beef and chicken chili, chili, spicy chili
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg ground chicken not ground breast
  • 1 lb ground beef 90/10
  • 2 Tbl flour masa flour if you have it
  • 1 large onion, small dice about 1-1.5 cups
  • 1 red bell pepper, small dice
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced about 2Tbl
  • 2 Tbl chili powder use half if you are spice sensitive
  • 1 Tbl ancho powder skip if you can't find it
  • 1 Tbl cumin
  • 1 Tbl smoked paprika or more, if you skipped ancho
  • 1 tsp each black pepper and salt
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes to taste
  • 2-3 chipotles w/ adobo, minced to taste; sub 2 tsp EA cayenne and chipotle powder
  • 2 Tbl tomato paste
  • 1 8oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 28oz can diced or crushed tomatoes Rotel with green chiles is excellent
  • 1 can Bush's Chili Starter Texas Medium any version is fine, this adds beans and thickeners - it's a nice time saver
  • 2 Tbl molasses, agave or sugar adds a little depth and sweetness to balance the spices
  • Toppings: sour cream, shred cheese, scallions serve with chips

Instructions

  • Gather ingredients and prep veg first.
  • In a 5-6 qt soup pot, sauté chicken and beef over med hi heat for about 5 minutes.
  • Add flour to meat and sauté another 2-3 minutes.
  • Add onion, garlic and pepper; continue to sauté until veg is softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add all the spices and stir to thoroughly integrate and cook out, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add chipotles, all tomato products and chili starter. Bring to a simmer and stir to integrate. Adjust heat to keep at a slow simmer for another 20 minutes.
  • Check S/P and adjust, then add sweetener. At this point, if chili is too tight, add a little water, chicken stock or even beer to loosen it up to your liking. Bring back to simmer for a final 5 minutes then take off heat.
  • Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, scallions and chips.

Notes

Photo credit: simplyrecipes.com
As with all chili, it gets better after it's been in the fridge for a couple of days. You will have to adjust the salt after it's been refrigerated, but the spices should bloom nicely as it sits. 
This chili freezes very well.