A big bowl of deep red chili, every spoonful full of bites of beef, creamy beans, and warm spices. Three different types of chili peppers bring their own unique flavors to the game … jalapenos for brightness, Anaheims for tangy spice, and chipotles for a smokey heat. Whether you serve it with corn chips, sour cream, or cornbread, you’ll find yourself going back over and over again for just a “few more bites.”
CLIFF NOTES:
Cook 2 cups of dried beans covered in water in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes; release pressure and strain beans. Put beans back in pressure cooker, add 2 teaspoons salt and cover with water, cook on high pressure 10 more minutes; release pressure and drain. Set aside. Place the Anaheim chili in the air fryer at 400° for 6-7 minutes, until large, heavy pot, sautee onions and jalapenos until they are soft and tender. Remove from pot and brown small pieces of stew meat; remove from pot and set aside. Brown ground beef. Return onions, peppers, and stew meat to pot. Add in 3 crushed cloves garlic, 3 T chili powder, 2 T dried oregano, 2 T cumin, 1 t cayenne and cook briefly to slightly toast the spices. Add 1/4 cup tequila to deglaze the pan; cook 2-3 minutes. Add 3 cups of beef broth and cook until the liquid has reduce by about 1/4. Add 32 ounces tomato sauce, 1 chopped chipotle chili with 1 T adobo sauce; the cooked beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a slow boil and cook for 1.5-2 hours, stirring often, until stew meat is tender.
MAKE IT YOUR WAY:
– Rather than two different types of beef, use only stew meat, only ground beef, or ground turkey.
– Make it vegetarian by leaving out the meat and using vegetable broth instead of beef broth.
– Leave out the beans or change the quantity to suit your preference.
– Mix and match different chili peppers – for spicier, use serrano peppers or habaneros. For milder, reduce the number of chilis or leave them out completely.
SIMPLIFY IT:
– Use canned or jarred chili peppers, such as chopped green chilies for the Anaheim pepper, and jarred jalapenos for the fresh jalapenos
– Use canned beans – a can each of pinto, kidney, and black beans is a wonderful combination!
There are as many ways to make chili as there are people who claim themselves to be chili experts. Some say beans are blasphemy; others say no tomato products; and there are others whose secret recipe involves primarily canned goods. They all have their merits, and there are few that I wouldn’t eat. But this is the one that we love.
It starts off with dried beans, both ground beef and pieces of stew meat, and a deliciously spicy mixture of chili peppers … jalapenos for their bright flavor, roasted Anaheim, which brings a bit tangy fruitiness, and a chipotle pepper to add a smokey heat. It’s not a quick dish, but the results are exceptional. And, like most good chilis and soups, it’s even better as leftovers. So be sure to make a big pot, have your favorite toppings on hand, and then settle down and let this warm and comforting meal warm the hearts and souls of those you love.
The Ultimate 3-Chili Chili
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried Beans, mixture of black, kidney, pinto, and/or white beans
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 large onion, chopped into medium pieces
- 3 jalapeno peppers, diced
- 1 pound Stew Beef (like a chuck steak), cut in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
- 1 Tablespoon Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 cup Tequila (optional)
- 3-4 cups Beef Broth
- 32 oz Tomato Sauce
- 1 large Anaheim pepper, roasted, skin removed, and diced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped Chipotle Chili in Adobo Sauce
- 32 oz Tomato Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients:
- Beans: Pour a mixture of 2 cups of dried beans (recommend black beans, pinto, kidney and/or northern beans) into an electric pressure cooker. Add water to cover 2″ above the level of the beans. Set to cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. When the time ends, release pressure, and pour beans through a strainer, discarding the water. Return the beans to the pressure cooker, add water to cover 2″ above the level of the beans, add 2 teaspoons of salt, and set to cook for another 10 minutes at high pressure. When the time ends, release the pressure, drain the beans, and set aside.
- Anaheim Pepper: Place the Anaheim pepper in an air fryer set to cook at 400° for 6-7 minutes. Start checking at about 5 minutes, and when the skin is charred and has pulled away from the pepper, remove it from the air fryer and place in a covered dish or zip-top bag and leave for 5 minutes. At the end of the time, the skin should easily pull away from the pepper. Remove the skin and seeds, and chop into 1/4″ pieces.
- Chop onion and jalapeno. Cut stew meat into 1/2″ pieces. Chop garlic.
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- Time to Cook:
- In a large, heavy pan, saute onions and jalapenos in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until soft and starting to brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and brown the stew meat over medium heat, until browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Brown the ground beef, then add the onions, jalapenos, and stew meat back to the pan. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and cook for about 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the tequila and cook for a minute or two, then add 3 cups of beef broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add roasted Anaheim chili and chipotle chili. Add tomato sauce and the cooked beans. Cook, slightly covered for 1 – 1 1/2 hours until stew meat is tender and flavors have melded.
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- Serve: Garnished with your choice of grated cheddar cheese, diced onions, sliced jalapenos, sour cream, corn chips, or cornbread.