There are times when I crave a bowl of my Homemade Chili. Chili that’s smoky, spicy, and with a real depth of flavor. In this recipe, I bring out all the stops. To add texture and sweetness, I like adding shoepeg corn. Shoepeg corn is a small, sweet white corn kernel, and I believe it is an underutilized ingredient. I’m also a believer in adding a moderate amount of black beans to chili.

Everyone who loves chili knows that the longer it simmers, the thicker and better it gets. To make chili takes a lot of love. If you can dedicate 30 minutes prep time and a little over an hour cooking time, I promise you will love this chili.

Ancho chilies are dried, smoked Poblano peppers. They’re a mild pepper with a smoky flavor that’s perfect for chili.

 

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The next day, I do something a little different. You know how chili’s always better the second day, well, that’s when I grab a warm corn tortilla and make a taco. A little Homemade Chili, Pico de Gallo, Chunky-Style Guacamole, and Queso Fresco. YUMMY!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Equipment: 6-quart Dutch oven with a lid, 10-cup food processor, 2 small mixing bowls, chef’s knife, cutting board

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds of lean ground sirloin
6 ancho chiles, reconstituted and puréed (yields 1/2 cup of ancho purée)
3 tablespoons of Mexican chocolate (optional)
1 (7-ounce) jar of Piquillo peppers, puréed
3 tablespoons of chili powder
3 tablespoons of light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons of ground cumin
2 tablespoons of sweet paprika
2 tablespoons of smoked paprika
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly-ground 
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 chipotle peppers, packed in adobo, seeded, and minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup of green onions, sliced (reserving the green tops for garnish)
1 large onion, diced
2 (28-ounce) cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes
1 (10.5-ounce) can of beef consommé
2 cups of beef stock, unsalted
1 (15-ounce) can of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) package of frozen shoepeg corn, thawed

Toppings and Garnishes for the Chili:
cilantro
shredded cheddar cheese
lime wedges
guacamole
diced red onion
green onion tops, thinly sliced on the bias
tortilla chips

Instructions:
Start by reconstituting the dried ancho chilies. Fill a 3-quart saucepan with 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the peppers to the hot water and allow them to soften/reconstitute for 30 minutes.
As shown above, while the dried ancho chilies are reconstituted on the stove, you want to move on to the prep work for the chili.

In the meantime, dice the green onions (reserving the green tops for garnish), a Spanish onion, and red and green bell peppers; mince the garlic; and seed and mince a jalapeno pepper. Alongside those ingredients, I’ve seeded and chopped a couple of Chipotle peppers. For another ingredient, I puréed Piquillo peppers in a food processor, then transferred the Piquillo purée to a bowl. I’ve drained and rinsed the black and kidney beans. Thaw the Shoepeg white corn.

Next, remove the stems and seeds. Add them to the food processor. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid (if needed, add 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency) to the processor. Pulse until peppers are puréed. After the ancho chilies have been processed, transfer them to a bowl and set aside. Then you want to have all your liquids together: beef broth, beef consommè, and the whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes.

Next, is to get together all the spices for the chili. First, and this is optional, is the chocolate. I’m using what’s known as Mexican chocolate. It’s used as a spice and gives a real depth of flavor to the chili. Then there are the standard chili spices, chili powder, ground cumin, sweet and smoky paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, light brown sugar, kosher salt,  and black pepper. I like to arrange all the spices on a large plate as seen above.

Using a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, start the vegetable oil in the bottom of the pot. To bloom the spices, add them to the vegetable oil. Stirring and mixing all the spices, including the brown sugar. Once the spices release their aroma, add the lean ground sirloin to the pot. Once the meat is combined with the spices, add the Chipotle pepper purée again, and stir to combine. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, the meat for another 10 minutes, or until the meat is brown and cooked through.

Next, add all the diced veggies along with the minced garlic and jalapeno. To that, the tomato paste. Continue stirring all of these ingredients together, making sure the meat and veggies are well combined.

Now for the liquids. Start with the canned whole tomatoes. Once they’re in the pot, use a wooden spoon to start breaking them up. Add the beef consommé and beef broth, giving everything a big stir to combine. Still, on medium heat, allow everything to come up to a bubble. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally, and simmer for 50 minutes. Once the chili has been simmering for 50 minutes, add the black beans, kidney beans, and shoepeg corn, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Finally, the usual suspects are shredded cheddar, diced red onions, cilantro, lime wedges, and of course some Chunky-Style Guacamole! 

There you have it, my Homemade Chili.

Note:
1) The Kcal count does not include any toppings.

2) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2015/04/29/guacamole/

https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/04/30/grilled-sweet-corn-with-a-chili-lime-butter-and-queso-fresco/

https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/08/05/pico-de-gallo-two-ways/

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/