With the arctic weather we had the last couple of days here in New England you might be looking for something to warm your soul. We woke up to a whopping temperature of -19 degrees with a feels like -33 degrees with the windchill factor. I personally do not remember it ever being that cold around here. I made sure that we were as prepared as we could be. I had all the laundry and dishes done, just in case we lost power due to the high winds. Thankfully we didn’t. I bought a brisket and marinated it overnight so it would be all set to cook in the oven for 4-5 hours. I also prepped a pot roast for my in-laws so they had something baking in the oven for several hours, just to help with heating the house. I read all over facebook how people’s heating systems were not able to keep up with the crazy cold weather. Most thought there was something wrong with them but I bet they will be fine today when we are back to a normal temperature of around 30 degrees.
Back to the chili that I want to re-share with you. I made this chili 5 or so years ago. It was the first time making a chili without beans, first using a beer and first putting Chipotles in Adobo sauce in a chili. While it is a small can, it is probably one of the most spiciest ingredients that I generally use. I like a little heat but I have never and will never use the whole can in any recipe. I wouldn’t be able to eat it. I use it sparingly and store the rest in the fridge in a tight lidded container.
This is a deep rich flavored chili and depending how much Chipotles you add can be a bit spicy. But it goes together pretty quickly and not a lot of ingredients so maybe give it a try. Funny not funny thing is I no longer have the same blender I replaced it with a Vitamix and I have no idea why I didn’t do this sooner. I will never buy a typical blender again, I love the Vitamix. I also unfortunately lost the Dutch oven that I always used, not sure how but it got a chip in the bottom of it and never worked the same again.
Chocolate Stout Chili
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck ½ inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic chopped or minced
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 chipotle
- 2 teaspoon adobo sauce from the chipotle can
- 1½ tablespoons ground cumin
- 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
- 2½ teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon coffee extract I use regular coffee
- 1 12 ounce chocolate stout beer
- olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl combined the cumin, salt, chili powder, oregano and cinnamon. Add the beef and coat the meat with the spice mixture. Let the meat sit out for about 30 minutes.
- In your blender combine the tomatoes, paste, chipotle in adobo, sugar, coffee and a teaspoon of salt. Puree scraping down the sides as needed.
- In a dutch oven or heavy-duty pot heat the oil; once hot add the beef in batches. Brown the beef on all sides transfer the meat to a bowl or plate and continue the process until all the beef is browned.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the onion cooking till soft and translucent scraping up any browned bits left in the pot. Add the garlic stirring for about 30 seconds and then add the beef to the pot. Stir in the blender mixture along with the beer.
- Bring to a boil and reduce to low and simmer with the cover slightly ajar for about 3 hours. Enjoy with grated cheese, sour cream, not hot enough add some pickled jalapenos.
Another wonderful recipe from Fine Cooking