Happy 4th of July, my American friends!
There’s a funny story behind this recipe. I was asking a (male) friend his thoughts on what recipe to put out for July 4, since I had done BBQ sauce already for Canada Day. His unexpected suggestion: Chili.
Chili?! I said. Spicy stuff? For July? For hot weather? His reply: Yes.
When I asked why, his only reply was: “Because, chili.”
I thought, that’s man logic if I ever heard it. It put me in mind of this recipe that my Mom passed along to me, with a whopping 6 pounds of meat and 2 bottles of beer, and has the joyful endorsement from carnivorous beer lovers I know.
As a bonus laugh, the note on the recipe had serves 16-18 crossed out and more like 10 written in.
Oh yeah, I’m not going to bother with calculating the calories on this one, I think it’s safe to say that any recipe with 6 pounds of meat is not for people interested in dieting. But that’s OK, we can indulge in the bad once in a while, as long as we’re using good ingredients, right? Right?
- 1/2 cup corn oil (you can use light olive oil, but it won’t be quite the same)
- 3 large onions, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 tbsp New Mexican (or other mild) ground chiles
- 1 tsp hot ground chiles + more to taste
- 2 tablespoons cumin powder
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- 5 pounds boneless beef chuck, ground (or substitute extra lean ground beef).
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 1/3 cups dry kidney beans (or 2 cans*)
- 1 28oz can peeled San Marzano or Italian tomatoes plus the liquid
- 2 bottles Dos Equis or your choice of amber beer
- 1 can beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- Your preferred accompaniments: cheddar, sour cream, rice, tortilla chips, etc. Or serve on your BBQ’d hotdogs if you think the meat content is still too low 😉
*If using canned kidney beans, skip past bean prep.
Begin by soaking the dried kidney beans the night before, or 12 hours prior. Drain and rinse soaked beans, then put in a pot and cover with water, boiling for at least 10 minutes and simmering for another hour, or til tender. Add water as necessary to keep the beans covered. Reserve cooked beans for later.
In a large stockpot, heat the oil and sauté onions until they begin to caramelize. Add garlic, chiles, and cumin, stirring for about 1 minute until garlic becomes fragrant and spices toast.
Add the pork, cutting it into smaller pieces with a spatula, and then add the beef, oregano, salt and pepper, stirring and chopping it with the spatula until the meat loses most of its redness, 10-15 minutes.
Add tomatoes and liquid, beer, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring mixture to a boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to a strong simmer. Cook until the sauce is reduced to a chili-worthy consistency, about 1.5-2 hours.
While the chili sauce is reducing, drain and rinse soaked beans, then put in a pot and cover with water, boiling for at least 10 minutes and simmering for another hour, or til tender.
Now test for spiciness and add more hot chiles 1/4 tsp at a time until you reach your pain threshold.
When both beans and sauce are ready, mix the beans into the chili and serve with your accompaniments.
Amy says
I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award. Check it out: http://bit.ly/10IKj1n
Food Retro says
Thank you! 🙂 Hope you’re enjoying the blog.