Monday, February 1, 2010

Black and Gold Chili

For the past several weeks my husband, A.J., has been talking about making chili. It's all been talk.  Friday with the snowy/icy weather on the way, I was in the mood to make a batch of chili.  While I was at the grocery store with all of the other crazy people scooping up bread and milk, I was scooping up ingredients to make chili.

First off, let me tell you I am a little bit imtimidated about posting this recipe.  There is a championship chili maker that I hold in high esteem that reads and comments on this blog.  Enough said.

I adapted this Emeril Lagasse recipe a bit but was very captivated by it because it had some out of the ordinary ingredients like cinnamon, chocolate, brown sugar and beer and I was very curious about the taste combination.  We both loved the taste of the chili.  It has the right about of heat, a wonderful texture and the chili doesn't have the strong cumin taste that I loathe.





Preheat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add in 2 lbs. of lean ground beef.  We used 1 lb. ground chuck and 1 lb. ground sirloin.  Brown the beef and drain off any excess fat.


Add 2 chopped yellow onions, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 bay leafs, 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.  Thoroughly combine and cook until the onions begin to turn soft, about 10 minutes.


Add two tablespoons minced garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.




Then add in three 12 ounces bottles of dark beer.  




Once the foaming from the beer subsides, add in 18 ounces of crushed tomatoes.


and 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste.  Stir to completely blend.


Add on 1/2 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and stir.



Add in 1 tablespoon brown sugar.



Allow to come to a boil then lower heat and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occassionally.




Then add in three 15 ounce cans of rinsed and drained red kidney beans.  Adjust seasonings and allow to simmer for 90 more minutes.



Serve garnished with shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

Keep warm and Geaux Saints!



44 comments:

pam said...

Three bottles of beer. Sounds good to me.

Joanne said...

If there's anyone I would trust to give you a killer chili recipe, it's Emeril. Sounds good to me! I love all of these non-traditional ingredients.

gigi said...

Wow I think you are brave! I would have never tried such a recipe. Glad to know it turned out good! Yes, and Go Saints!!!!!1

Carol Murdock said...

I ALWAYS get hungry after a visit here! YOU ARE the most amazing cook Katherine!! XOXO

Christo Gonzales said...

pile mine on a hot dog - whoot whoot its chili!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

God love my mother, she makes the worst chilli I think I've ever eaten! Because of her chilli, I've thought I liked chilli; perhaps this recipe will change my mind. The dark beer, slight sweetness and lack of cumin sound delicious.

Leiah said...

Who Dat's got a new chili recipe for me to try? Stopping by from SITS. I saw the title Black & Gold and knew it would be worth it. I was planning on making chili for the game and this one looks great! Just wondering - can you leave out the beans? I'm a former Texas girl now living in LA, and Texans don't put beans in their chili. And I'm soooo with you on the cumin...blech! Geaux Saints ~ DREW DAT!

The JR said...

I bet that hit the spot on a cold, blustery day!

Looks like a killer recipe.

Amy said...

Well don't worry...I am not a championship maker of ANYTHING, so to me, it sounds great! :)

April said...

This sounds interesting!! and it looks fantasic!!

The parking lot in the middle school was still ice, and I saw a woman fall flat on her back. But other than that the roads were fairly clear on my way to work.

In a few weeks, when TnLocavore gets back from traveling, we are going to try to get the Knoxville Bloggers together for dinner. Are you interested? I think it will be a ton of fun.

Claudia said...

3 bottles of beer and chocolate? Of course it's good. How can it be anything else? I'm going to try this. We're freezing in MN. Just reading this warmed me right up.

Debbie said...

That is one good looking pot of chili...I'm giving this a try in the near future. Sounds like a great recipe...Thanks Katherine!

Maria said...

Love that last photo with all of the toppings!

Marguerite said...

With three bottles of beer, this chili would have to be good! Looks amazing! Geaux Saints!

vanillasugarblog said...

oh girl that looks so good! give me some grilled bread to dip into that chili!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

Looks delicious! I could go for a big bowl of that right now.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That chili looks lovely and so comforting! I love the addition of beer...

Cheers,

Rosa

buffalodick said...

Pretty gourmet stuff you got there! You hate cumin? Try getting cumin seeds, toasting it in a fry pan until you can smell the aroma(2 min. low heat!) and grind them into powder..whole new flavor that doesn't taste so "green"..
Chili cook-offs have been described as 30 people who all make the best chili in the world- none of them the same recipe!

meleah rebeccah said...

I love chili soooo much and this recipe looks FABULOUS!! But, I dont think I could ever pull this off as well as you did!

Bob said...

I love beer in chili, I never make it without it. Looks awesome!

Katy ~ said...

LOL I still use a package mix to make chili, so this sounds championship good to me!

Pam said...

My husband would be thrilled with this chili.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I've been hungry for chili lately too. Your finished product is gorgeous.

I judged a chili cook-off a couple of years ago. Every one had beans in it.
Sam

NKP said...

Yum, that looks really inviting!
I have always had good luck with Emeril's recipes.

Anonymous said...

I agree, there are some curious ingredients. Looks wonderful. Go Saints!

teresa said...

cinnamon and chocolate! i'm so very intrigued. this looks fantastic!

Jennifer said...

Now that is one good looking chili! I thought I was the only one who knew that chocolate trick, LOL. I am sooo excited for the Saints this weekend!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Sounds delicious --and something that would taste good on a cold, winter's night--while snuggled up by the fireplace... YUM!!!!!!

WHO DAT!!!!! Go Saints..
Hugs,
Betsy

Reeni said...

What exotic ingredients for a chili! I love it. It looks incredibly comforting and hearty. Perfect for snuggling up to.

Chris said...

You hate cumin? We finally disagree on something ;)

Looks and sounds great!

It was icy out? I didn't notice (ha ha ha)

Plain Chicken said...

Looks great. We made chili recently too. We used the Deen Bros recipe. I love a good chili - especially in this cold weather.

La Bella Cooks said...

Chocolate and beer in chili sounds almost too good to be true but this looks fantastic!

The Blonde Duck said...

We're having chili this week for dinner! Great minds think alike!

theUngourmet said...

I'm always on the lookout for great chili recipes! This looks fantastic!!

pigpigscorner said...

I'm always up for chili!

Julie said...

I gotta try this...never heard of brown sugar in chili, but it sounds good to me!

MaryBeth said...

Super good on a super gold night or at the super bowl party...

Barbara said...

Oh man. Beer, cinnamon and chocolate in chili? Sounds good to me! I don't like cumin either.

Nice to see BD was kind to your chili effort, although I knew he would be! BTW: His recipe is to die for.

Debbie said...

The chocolate and cinnamon threw me off but I bet it is delicious!

Anonymous said...

Excellent chili recipe, sounds perfect for Superbowl!

Jeff said...

3 beers for the chili and the remaining 3 for me. Love it! I just started adding chocolate to my chili and love the way it turns out. Definitely adds a great level of complexity that was missing.

Unknown said...

Dear Smokymountaincafe, I love this chili recipe! It was also really funny how you mentioned at the beginning of this post of how you were intimidated with making it because of a championship chili maker who visits your site! All I can say to you is "Wild Thing", you make my heart sing! Loved and saved this recipe. I shall revisit you soon. Thank you for sharing.
Cheers, Gaby
You can always visit me at http://ptsaldari.posterous.com.

tavolini said...

this looks better than mine ;)

I like the addition of beer--I've done that to soups, but not chili.

Anonymous said...

Would love to come home and find this waiting.