‘Holy Shit That’s Good’ Sausage-Beef Chili

OK, I’ve been doing the chili thing for a while now, and I’ve pretty much got it down. This chili is a meaty man-like chili that will leave all satisfied. So, even if you think you know how to make chili, follow along and you’ll learn some good tips. Here’s what you need:

1 lb – ground chuck
2 links (~.6 lb) – Andouille Sausage
1/2 lb – ground hot sausage
1-2 – medium onions
1-2 – medium green bell pepper
1 tbsp (3ish) cloves – garlic
2 28oz cans – DICED tomatoes
2 12?oz cans – red kidney beans
good dark beer
spices

We start with the meat. Throw all the meat into a pot while we cut up the veggies. It’s important to use chuck because it has a high fat content that will help to cook the rest of the meat. If you are unfamiliar with Andouille sausage, it’s pretty much the king of sausage. It’s very common in cajun cooking, and is the prime ingredient in many gumbos/jambalaya. I also like to throw in some spicy ground sausage for an extra kick.

While we SLOWLY cook the meat, cut up the veggies. It’s chili so it doesn’t have to be real neat or small. In fact, I like my chunks somewhat big. So throw the veggies into the pot with some chili powder, a little cayenne, and some ground cumin. Maybe a 4:1:1 ratio. Don’t overdo it; you can add more later. After the veggies/spices, add the garlic. Use fresh if you can, although most of the time I just use jarred minced garlic.

Now the important part. Many people leave out an all important step, and it ruins the chili. Let me bold this for you. You must add some other liquid besides the tomatoes or you’ll chili will taste like crappy goulash.

Some people add water (weak), some add beef broth; we can do better. At this point, add your favorite dark beer thats in season. I normally use Sam Adams Cream Stout. Don’t use anything fruity, but like I need to tell you that. At this point, you can even add a little red wine if you’d like. Again, go dark/heavy. This batch, I used a little Pacific Estates Cab Sav, maybe 1/2 cup. Again, this is one of the most important parts. You should have something like this:

enlarge the pic

Let this bad boy simmer for as long as you can. As it does, the meat will pick up all that delicious flavor from the beer. When you’re ready add the DICED tomatoes. At this point, I’ll rant again. Do not use Crushed tomatoes. I don’t care who told you, don’t. That’s it. Trust me, I’ve used both, diced is BY FAR the way to go. I take thank you’s in the form of blow jobs and rusty trombones.

Now, you need to let this simmer for as long as you can. The longer you do, the better the chili. At the very minimum it needs to simmer for 1.5 hours, I prefer around 3…seriously. It just gets better. About 15 minutes before you plan to serve, strain and rinse the beans, and toss them in. Note that adding the beans will thicken the chili up a little bit. The beans give off a little starch which will bring it all together.

Now taste and reseason. It will probably need some black pepper, and more than likely some more chili powder. If you’re me, it will need some hot sauce and more cayenne as well. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, more hot sauce, and cheese if needed. Fresh made bread should accompany as well.