Hannah's Feed the Troops Chili
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MzFury
Posts: 283 Member
Winter's here, so it's chili time. Here's my fiber & veg-enriched version that doesn't sacrifice beer, beef or chili flavors... And it's fast, using ground beef and canned beans, instead of stew meat and dried beans. Will also post in public forum:
INGREDIENTS
1 - 2 Tbsp oil of choice, divided
.5 med onion, diced
1 med onion, pulverized (process to paste in processor)
1 red or other bell pepper, diced
1 large jalapeno, diced (remove seeds and veins if desired)
2 cups grated carrot (or process to small chunks), divided
1 can tomato paste (no salt)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp cumin powder
2 chipotles in adobo, minced
3.5 lbs lean ground beef (see note)
3 Tbsp NM powdered red chili or conventional chili powder (to taste)
2 cans red beans, drained a bit
1-2 cans black beans, drained a bit
3 bottles of lager
10 good-quality blue corn tortilla chips, pulverized (optional)
water, as needed
Lime juice (optional)
Salt (optional)
Minced cilantro (optional)
A “fast” chili that makes 10 – 12 servings (more if used in smaller quantities, as with baked potato topping), this recipe incorporates one of my favorite curry-thickening techniques – pulverized onion – and a lot of vegetables.
Beef: I prefer to spring for grass fed 95% lean beef due to its better nutritional profile – the recipe still should work out at under $2/serving, or very close to it – but you can use conventional beef of course. With 90% lean (and certainly anything fattier), it’s really best to brown till the fat is coming off in the pan (crusties forming on beef) and then lift the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Bison or other red-meat game would of course be excellent here, and I’m sure ground turkey would work as well, but that starts to leave the area too much...
Regarding beans: I have found that the Whole Foods 365, not-organic line has beans with no salt for $.89/can, and the beans are of good quality. That is what I have used.
The recipe can be easily reduced; I suggest leaving vegetable and bean portions higher, however – go from 3 to 2 cans of beans, for instance. This makes an incredibly successful one-bowl meal served very hot over raw slivered kale (or other cruciferous green, I’m sure). Turn it into healthier Frito Pie with a few broken blue corn chips and a little bit of cheese.
Heat .5 – 1 Tbsp oil if required (a durable non-stick pan can just be coated with cooking spray before heating) in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add beef, stirring occasionally till thoroughly browned and removing from any fat when finished (see notes on browning and removing fat). If using a metal pan, remove any remaining fat from pan and add ½ to 1 bottle of beer to pan while still hot, scraping anything remaining on bottom and turning off heat.
At the same time you start the beef, heat 1 Tbsp oil over med-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (6 quarts for these ratios) and sauté diced onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and ½ cup of the carrots, about 8 minutes, stirring, until fragrant.
Add processed onion and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes (you may add a splash more oil here if it seems necessary).
Move contents to side and add tomato paste, stirring but allowing to brown a bit, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and chipotles and stir mixture for 2 – 3 more minutes.
Add beef and chili powder, stir through, and immediately add all beer (including the beer used to deglaze beef-pan, if applicable), scraping to deglaze bottom of pan.
Allow to heat, stirring, and add beans.
Bring up to a low boil and add water by the beer-bottle-full as needed – I used one beer bottle of water. Return to boil and reduce to simmer about 20 minutes.
Add about half a lime’s worth of juice, pulverized tortilla chips, if using, and remaining carrots, and simmer 10 minutes longer, stirring.
Add remaining lime juice and salt if required, and add cilantro or simply use as garnish if desired.
Chili may now be served or cooled and stored. It gets better with time and reheating.
INGREDIENTS
1 - 2 Tbsp oil of choice, divided
.5 med onion, diced
1 med onion, pulverized (process to paste in processor)
1 red or other bell pepper, diced
1 large jalapeno, diced (remove seeds and veins if desired)
2 cups grated carrot (or process to small chunks), divided
1 can tomato paste (no salt)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp cumin powder
2 chipotles in adobo, minced
3.5 lbs lean ground beef (see note)
3 Tbsp NM powdered red chili or conventional chili powder (to taste)
2 cans red beans, drained a bit
1-2 cans black beans, drained a bit
3 bottles of lager
10 good-quality blue corn tortilla chips, pulverized (optional)
water, as needed
Lime juice (optional)
Salt (optional)
Minced cilantro (optional)
A “fast” chili that makes 10 – 12 servings (more if used in smaller quantities, as with baked potato topping), this recipe incorporates one of my favorite curry-thickening techniques – pulverized onion – and a lot of vegetables.
Beef: I prefer to spring for grass fed 95% lean beef due to its better nutritional profile – the recipe still should work out at under $2/serving, or very close to it – but you can use conventional beef of course. With 90% lean (and certainly anything fattier), it’s really best to brown till the fat is coming off in the pan (crusties forming on beef) and then lift the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Bison or other red-meat game would of course be excellent here, and I’m sure ground turkey would work as well, but that starts to leave the area too much...
Regarding beans: I have found that the Whole Foods 365, not-organic line has beans with no salt for $.89/can, and the beans are of good quality. That is what I have used.
The recipe can be easily reduced; I suggest leaving vegetable and bean portions higher, however – go from 3 to 2 cans of beans, for instance. This makes an incredibly successful one-bowl meal served very hot over raw slivered kale (or other cruciferous green, I’m sure). Turn it into healthier Frito Pie with a few broken blue corn chips and a little bit of cheese.
Heat .5 – 1 Tbsp oil if required (a durable non-stick pan can just be coated with cooking spray before heating) in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add beef, stirring occasionally till thoroughly browned and removing from any fat when finished (see notes on browning and removing fat). If using a metal pan, remove any remaining fat from pan and add ½ to 1 bottle of beer to pan while still hot, scraping anything remaining on bottom and turning off heat.
At the same time you start the beef, heat 1 Tbsp oil over med-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (6 quarts for these ratios) and sauté diced onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and ½ cup of the carrots, about 8 minutes, stirring, until fragrant.
Add processed onion and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes (you may add a splash more oil here if it seems necessary).
Move contents to side and add tomato paste, stirring but allowing to brown a bit, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and chipotles and stir mixture for 2 – 3 more minutes.
Add beef and chili powder, stir through, and immediately add all beer (including the beer used to deglaze beef-pan, if applicable), scraping to deglaze bottom of pan.
Allow to heat, stirring, and add beans.
Bring up to a low boil and add water by the beer-bottle-full as needed – I used one beer bottle of water. Return to boil and reduce to simmer about 20 minutes.
Add about half a lime’s worth of juice, pulverized tortilla chips, if using, and remaining carrots, and simmer 10 minutes longer, stirring.
Add remaining lime juice and salt if required, and add cilantro or simply use as garnish if desired.
Chili may now be served or cooled and stored. It gets better with time and reheating.
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Replies
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This sounds fabulous! I have to admit the best part, though, is learning about salt-free canned beans at Whole Foods!!!0
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Sounds great! Will definitely add this one to my "to try" list!0
