Boilermaker Tailgate Chili

A couple weeks ago a good friend brought this over when she came for dinner. I didn’t think much of her bringing chili until I remembered she’d won two chili cook-offs with this chili and it had 5 stars with over 3,000 ratings on AllRecipes.com. I was seriously excited to try it… and let me tell you, the second I took a bite I was really just incredulous that it was so delicious. I’ve always liked chili but never loved it… but when I tried this I couldn’t stop raving about it. It’s delicious. There are tons of fresh veggies, peppers, seasonings, and LOTS of meat in it. The meat to bean ratio is really great (I did leave out a can of beans) and leaves it feeling really hearty but fresh at the same time. Just try it, please. It’s delicious.

And as a note, you must heed the recipe author’s advice to serve it on the 2nd day. I tried it the first and then second day and it tastes much better after the flavors have had time to settle together. And on that note it tastes great as leftovers on day 3, 4, 5, etc. I made it last weekend and for several days we had great leftovers, but it did go quickly. Plan to make it the day before you need it.

A couple other notes: 1) the ingredient list is really long so it looks intimidating, but it is so easy to make… just a lot to buy, 2) it is pretty spicy made as-is (which we love) but if you’re serving to kids or don’t love tons of spice you can halve the hot sauce and/or the cayenne pepper, 3) I haven’t tried it with celery yet so I can’t speak to how it it tastes with that. And finally, here is the recipe link. Other modifications are noted below.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained (I used 2)
• 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped (I used anaheim chiles)
• 1 tablespoon bacon bits (better with fresh bacon, cooked and crumbled in)
• 4 cubes beef bouillon
• 1/2 cup beer
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon white sugar

Directions:

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.

2. (I then placed the meat in the crock pot) Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (I heated in the crock pot on high for 4 hours)

3. After cooked, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and refrigerate, and warm then serve the next day. (If you make it in the crock pot, you can remove the stone bowl from the crock pot, with the chili still inside, chill it, and then put it right back on the crock pot to heat again the next day.)

Top with fritos, shredded cheese and/or avocado.

Look how meaty it is!