Fall is in full swing, which means it鈥檚 chili season. Whether you take your chili in a paper cup at the ski lodge, scooped from a slow cooker on the kitchen counter, or bubbling over your biggest cast-iron pan in camp, we鈥檝e got a recipe for you. Here鈥檚 a sampling of our favorites.
Dirtbag Chili
Celebrity chef and van dweller 听has perfected his听camp chili recipe听after years of practice. His secret? Even in the backcountry, he doesn鈥檛听settle for anything less than a Dutch oven or cast-iron pan. Sure, they鈥檙e heavy, but they work听for cooking pretty much anything听and can be used on an open flame or a van-sized stovetop. Glick鈥檚 variation features听unexpected ingredients like bacon and apples.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon, cut into half-inch chunks
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced large
- 2 Jazz apples, diced small
- 2 jalape帽os, seeds and stems removed, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes with their juices (San Marzanos, if possible)
- 1 12-ounce听dark beer (or beef stock if you prefer)
- 2 teaspoons听Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon听ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 16-ounce can kidney beans, drained
Directions
- In a large pot, cook the bacon chunks until crispy. Scoop out bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the hot fat behind.
- Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
- Add the onion and apples and saut茅听until tender.
- Add the jalape帽os and saut茅听until tender.
- Add the garlic and saut茅听for approximately 30 seconds.
- Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for one to two听hours over low-medium heat (should be just small bubbles, not a vigorous simmer or boil). If you鈥檙e using a Dutch oven at the campsite, simply cover the pot with a heavy lid and let it rest by the fire all day. The longer it simmers, the more flavor it will get.
- Adjust seasoning as you wish鈥攁dd more salt and spices if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish the way you like.
Vegan Chili
Ultrarunner and vegan cook 听makes a mean, meat-free cowboy chili, and he shares the recipe in his latest cookbook,听. Frazier recommends serving it over a base of rice or bulgur. Co-author Stepfanie Romine offers this tip for cooking chili perfectly: Timing is everything. 鈥淔or rich, no-meat chili, be sure to cook both your spices and your tomato paste first鈥攐therwise they don鈥檛 have a chance to open up and their flavor gets lost. Cooking spices in a bit of fat helps release their volatile oils for more intense flavor,鈥 she explains. 鈥淎dd your tomato paste after you鈥檝e saut茅ed your vegetables, not when you add the liquid ingredients. Cook the tomato paste, stirring constantly, until it darkens in color, then add things like beans, broth, and diced tomatoes. These tips only take a couple extra minutes, but they add so much flavor!鈥
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup canned hominy
- 2 cups packed collard greens, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 can stewed tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup brewed coffee
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce or other pepper sauce
- 1 16-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 1 16-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 to 8 cups cooked brown rice or bulgur wheat, for serving
- Lime juice, for serving
- Sliced avocado, for serving
Directions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, hominy, and collard greens and cook, stirring frequently, for about seven听minutes or until onion is lightly browned.
- Add the garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, coffee, and hot sauce, and then stir in the beans.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for at least 25 minutes. The longer you cook the chili and the lower the temperature, the more the flavors will meld and the better the chili will taste.
- Adjust the salt and seasonings to taste, and serve over cooked brown rice or bulgur wheat, with more hot sauce, lime juice, and听sliced avocado for garnish.
Lazy Foodie Chili
Greek-American distance runner , who made her marathon debut in Chicago this fall,听makes a simple bison chili in her Instant Pot. She brings her Mediterranean roots to her cooking, swapping听out kidney beans for听lentils and adding flavor and texture with ingredients like red wine and cauliflower. Pappas serves her chili with fresh oatmeal whole-wheat bread, and sometimes听she鈥檒l听toss wild rice straight into the pressure cooker, where it soaks up the bone broth and makes for an even heartier stew.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground bison or听big chunks of lamb
- 4 cups precooked lentils
- 3 cups grass-fed beef bone broth
- 5 medium tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1/2 cauliflower head
- 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
- Chili powder
- Salt
- Pepper
Directions
- Separate meat into chunks, and chop all the vegetables.
- Pop all ingredients听into the Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant Pot on the Stew/Chili setting, and you鈥檙e less than an hour away from the perfect meal.