Nothing says comfort food in the middle of winter or the perfect party meal to cheer on your favorite team during the big game like a nice warm bowl of chili. Prepare everything the day before, throw it in a crockpot to keep warm, put out some accompanying sides like sour cream and shredded cheese, then sit back and enjoy the game while supporting your team! Whether you prefer Texas all meat or want some beans in there to help power on your rootin’ n tootin’ “air horn” blasts, this recipe will fit your needs. So grab a beer or two from your fridge, follow along with the steps, and get ready to impress everyone at your next tailgate or Superbowl Party!
Unlike many other recipes, this game day chili does require a bit more food preparation so it’s best just to get everything out of the fridge, fill your counters so you look like a hoarder, and hope your house doesn’t catch on fire while prepping so you can avoid explaining the mess to that firefighter asking what in the living hell you think you were doing. The first thing we want to knock out, and honestly, about the most mundane, time-consuming part of this whole recipe, is to prep the veggies. Slice about 4 celery stalks in half lengthwise then thin slice to your preference. I usually cut them into about 1/8th inch slices to maintain some form and mouthfeel yet not be too much of a peppery bite. Continue on with coring 3 bell peppers and chopping them into 1” square to bitesize pieces. Finally, let’s get those tears rolling and dice 2 onions into the same size as you prepped your bell pepper. Sheeeeeew……we are now pretty much done with the hard part/labor of this recipe!
Most of you know I’m a huge fan of keeping a jar of bacon fat in the fridge so if you are not some sort of anti-bacon terrorist, whip that bad boy out and put 2-3 tablespoons into a large pot. Now for all you health-conscience people that still want to continue on thinking chili is a healthy option, go ahead and use any unflavored cooking oil you prefer. The trick we are doing here is sweating/sauteing the veggies, but not fully cooking them at this point. Start with the celery for 3-4 minutes on a medium-high heat, adding some seasoning salt or kosher salt (and pepper) to help the process along. Next add the bell pepper and sauté for another 3-4 minutes before finally adding the onion for a couple minutes until it just starts to become translucent. Boom, we are officially done with the veggies at this point for a bit so pull them back out of the pan/pot and set aside for now.
In the same pot, since it’s already hot, add 3 pounds of ground beef and begin to brown it. The whole process should take about 12 to 15 minutes, but start with adding the Worcestershire sauce and some salt/pepper. Once the meat is about half done cooking, there should be some natural liquids released in the pot so now is a good time to add in half the chili seasoning. You can be lazy and grab some premade chili mix from the store or feel free to go all out and try your hand at your own concoction. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, just how to make some chili, after all. Adding the chili seasoning now really helps fortify those great chili flavors into the meat itself. Finish browning the meat till it is just shy of being completely cooked. Depending on which ground mixture you chose to use (75/25, 80/20, 90/10, etc), you may want to scoop out or drain the excess liquid fat from the pot at this point. Or live on the wild side and leave it to help flavor the rest of the ingredients we are about to add back in. You do you! I promise not to judge, too much. We are essentially done with the “watched pot” part of the recipe so begin by adding back all those veggies you previously sweated.
Now we can start clearing off the counter of all those canned goods, saving the beans (if you are adding any) till the end. Dump in the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, a couple cans of Rotel or similar diced tomato mix, the rest of the chili seasoning, and stir to thoroughly combine all the ingredients. If you want your chili to burn going down and coming out, this would also be a good time to add some cayenne pepper or freshly diced hot chilis. Anyone that prefers a thicker, more traditional Texas style chili you can pretty much hold up at this point. For everyone else, myself included, it’s gameday after all so let’s get a couple 12oz brewskies in the pot to not only help add some liquids but also gain some flavor. Again, personal preference here but standard cheap lagers tend to work best. PBR for life! For any non-drinkers out there, veggie stock, V8 juice, or even a bloody mary mixer actually work quite well as substitutes. Back to my fellow drunks, the alcohol is going to cook out so grab a couple more for yourself and start relaxing. Reduce the heat to low/simmer and cook for at least an hour but preferably 90 more minutes. Beer thirty, am I right? Don’t forget to stir every 15-20 minutes, though, or some sticking/burning may occur on the bottom of the pot.
If you want to keep it Texas style, kill the heat after 90 minutes and serve. For all the “air horn” bean-o people out there, add 1 can of Ranch beans and 1 can of kidney beans about 15 minutes before your 90 minute cook ends. This is just long enough to soften them up and incorporate some flavor without turning them to mush. Keep the pot on warm mode if it’s game day or refrigerate and serve from a crockpot to reheat and keep warm throughout the entire game. Don’t forget to put out some sour cream, shredded cheese, and maybe some crackers for your guests! This chili is excellent by itself, but some people just have to add all that extra stuff to be EXTRA……..Cheers to pulling this one off!