Hi, this is Lisa's husband Eddie, guest blogging my award winning chili based on popular demand (mostly from my wife).
I tried a number of different approaches in the following years, including a purist Texas style chili that shunned beans and ground beef in favor of unadorned hunks of stew meat simmered in what I thought was an excellent balance of chiles and spices. “Delicious”, someone told me after I placed third, “but it’s not really chili”.
The award winning chili had beans in it. And I had to admit it was much better than mine, in part because it had three different kinds of meat in it, including sausage.
Determined to come up with an award winning chili, I narrowed my sights to multiple-meat chilis and came upon Guy Fieri’s Dragon Breath chili, which is the recipe I’m adapting here.
This chili contains chuck meat, Italian pork sausage and ground beef plus three different kinds of peppers (poblano, Anaheim and jalapeño) which results in excellent flavor, texture and heat. And my version has a little something extra! Fieri‘s recipe calls for either bacon grease or canola oil to sauté the aromatics. Easy choice I thought, but it’s not as if you can buy bacon grease so I got a 12-oz package of bacon, cut it into small pieces and rendered the fat myself. It produced just about the right amount of fat, but also an interesting byproduct. As I looked at those cooked bits of bacon I thought “who am I kidding? Those are going into my chili!”
Also Lisa advised that I use three different kinds of chili powder to add a depth of flavor to match up against the three (now four actually) kinds of meat and three types of chili pepper. Finally, my taste in beer steered me toward an IPA rather than the lager suggested by the original recipe.
Aside from those differences and the fact that I brown the meat separately instead of in with the sautéed vegetables, the credit goes to Fieri for an amazing recipe, especially his use of spices which generates a level of heat that is just on the edge, which in my view is where a chili should be.
My chili won two cook-offs outright including one against Dean’s award winning white chicken chili.
It also took best meat chili in a third competition (lost to a vegetarian in the all-around that year) and came in a very close second to Dean’s white chicken chili in another cook-off that was heartbreaking for me.
Against a field of roughly 20 chilis and with hundreds of votes tallied, Dean and I were counted up exactly even to tie for the win and the medal was awarded jointly to us. In what has since become known as Chili-gate, I later that day discovered that unlike the previous competition, the cooks were not allowed to vote. I conceded that I had in fact voted and presented sole ownership of the blue ribbon to Dean. I kidded him that my vote was for his chili (it wasn’t).
HERE'S HOW TO MAKE EDDIE'S AWARD WINNING CHILI:
This chili takes time to prepare and involves numerous ingredients, but it's totally worth it and the basics are straightforward.
Start by roasting, peeling and chopping the chiles. Keep a close eye on them while they are roasting - things can escalate quickly.
In the meantime, cut up and fry down the bacon to provide the grease to use for sautéing (and the bacon itself!). You then sauté the chiles and vegetables in the bacon fat, remove them and brown the meat in the same pot.
Then add the spices, the tomato sauce and paste, chicken broth and beer and simmer for two hours.
Lisa asked me to advise you that if you want to be a little healthier you can skim the fat off the surface periodically which, in my opinion, for this dish is sort of like saying that if you want to be a little safer when you go cliff diving, wear knee pads. But anyway consider it mentioned.
No skimming was involved when I took first place in the cook-offs. And if you really want a healthy chili option, try this vegetarian chili or this Turkey Chili.
I also want to say that it is great to have a sous chef alongside when you prepare this chili, preferably Lisa.
One final note: for my taste the heat level is perfect, but if you want to tone it down, the best way is by reducing the amount of cayenne pepper.
Here's my award winning chili recipe. If you make this please come back to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Eddie's Award Winning Chili
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 mins
- Yield: 10-12 1x
Description
A fantastic award winning chili con carne, with beef, pork, three kinds of chilis, a perfect balance of spice and heat.
Ingredients
- 3 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
- 3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
- 12 ounces of bacon, cut crosswise into ¼-inch strips and sautéed until almost crisp. Reserve 3 tablespoons of bacon fat.
- 3 tablespoons bacon fat (rendered from the bacon)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (canola, grape seed or your favorite)
- 2 red bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed, diced
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed, minced
- 2 yellow onions, peeled and diced
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced (10-12 garlic cloves, 6 tablespoons minced garlic)
- 1 pound boneless beef chuck, trimmed of fat and gristle, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
- 3 tablespoons chili powder (Try using 3 different chili powders for great depth of flavor - I use ancho, chipotle and Mexican)
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (Half this amount for less heat)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 2 teaspoons granulated onion
- 2 teaspoons hot paprika (not smoked)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups tomato sauce (passata, not ketchup for those in the UK)
- 8 ounces tomato paste
- 12 ounces of your favorite beer (I use an IPA because I like the hoppy flavor)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, with juice
- 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, with juice
- Optional Garnishes:
- 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced or 1 red onion, finely chopped
- Shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Roast the Chilies: Preheat the oven to broil (500ºF) Set an oven rack at the top, directly under the broiler. Spread the chiles out on a low-sided oven tray and roast for 15-20 minutes, turning peppers with tongs every five minutes, until their skins are about 60-70% blackened on all sides. Put the hot peppers directly into a paper bag. Roll down the top of the bag so they're tightly contained. Let them sit and steam for 15-20 minutes until the skins are loosened and easy to peel off. Peel off skins, remove seeds and membranes, and chop.
- Sauté Chilis and Aromatics: Add the bacon grease and oil to a large heavy pot or Dutch oven (6-quart), over medium-high heat. Add the chopped chiles, red bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and onions. Cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables just start to become translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer all the sautéed vegetables to a bowl and set aside. No need to wash the pot, you'll use it to brown the meat.
- Brown the Meats: Add the cubed beef chuck to the pot and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring to break up the sausage and ground beef, until the meat is no longer pink. Return the cooked vegetables to the pot along with the reserved bacon.
- Add Spices: chili powders, cayenne, coriander, cumin, granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika, salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the Rest of the Ingredients: Add the tomato sauce and paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, to combine. Add beer, chicken stock, kidney beans with their liquid and pinto beans with their liquid. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook for 2 hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- To Serve: Ladle chili into bowls. Top with garnishes or put garnishes into small bowls for self serve.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Keywords: chili con carne, meaty chili, chili with beef and pork
Pat
Planning to make this and was wondering if instead of the 4 cans of beans, I substituted 1 of the kidneys and 1 of the pintos for a can of black and a can of sweet corn. I wanted to go for a southwest feel and add some sweet to the heat without sugar and hoping the corn would accomplish this. I’d be happy to hear other people’s thoughts.
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Pat - my apologies for not responding sooner. I absolutely support your choices around those substitutions. Please come back and let us know how you make out.
Cindy
I decided to try this chili bc my dads name was Eddie and since I lost him a few years back I figured anything with Eddie in the name had to be good. Boy o boy!! It’s not just good it’s amazing! Each Saturday I make a different chili during college football season. Some have been fails but most are just average but then I made your recipe. Oh my goodness!!! It is definitely the best by far! It’s exactly what chili should taste like. I even used it at our office chili cook off and hands down it was a win by far. So thank you for the recipe and thank you for being named Eddie!!I
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Cindy - well first of all congratulations on winning your office chili cook off. It's such a great feeling, no? I am sorry to hear you lost your Dad a few years ago - I am glad though that his name led you to a chili you enjoy so much, almost like he directed you to it! I really appreciate your coming back to leave a comment and a five star rating and sharing your story. I hope you will continue to make this recipe going forward and that it will bring you joy and future blue ribbons.
Ellen
Hi! I am going to attempt this chili for a cook off I am entering. When you say use the three chili powders…is the Mexican chili powder just the regular chili powder? I found a McCormicks hot chili powder but wanted to be sure it was considered the Mexican version. I also didn’t want to add extra heat to it. Thank you!
Eddie
Hi Ellen - that substitution should be fine. Spice is a personal thing - if you are at all worried about overheating, I would half the amount (or eliminate) the cayenne pepper, which really doesn't have any flavor other than heat.
Ellen
Hi Eddie! I made this for a chili contest this past weekend. 14 contestants and 90+ judges. I won first place!!!!! $700! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe!!!
Brenda
Excited to use this recipe this week!
But have you tried to use a crock pot with this recipe??
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Brenda, I have not tried doing this, but I don't see why it couldn't be done. I would highly recommend that you roast and peel the chilies in line with the recipe and something tells me you should brown the meat before putting it in the crock pot but everything else feels like it would work fine. Please check back in and let me know how it went.
Danny
It’s hot in Mississippi this summer and not a time of year for chili, but this recipe which I have made at least 6 times is calling my name. I brought fresh Delta tamales today in Greenville and they are begging for a bowl of chili. So, it is simmering as I type this review. This is my favorite chili recipe ever and we serve it every New Years at our bonfire. If you will stay pretty close to the recipe on this one you will have a winner every time. Sorry I waited so long to write a review on a dish that has brought joy to so many. Thanks, and Happy New Year in August from Mississippi.
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Danny, it brings me joy to hear how much joy this chili has brought to you and your family. A New Year's bonfire sounds like an fantastic tradition and it is quite an honor to have this chili represented. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. You made my day!
Ben
I wimped out. I was going to get the dry beans but the week got busy and by Friday night I had no energy to soak and then boil beans so I went canned instead. Turned out brilliant! Thanks again for sharing.
A couple of interesting discoveries allng the way. Our friend's daughter is celiac so I had to make sure it was completely gluten free, as in not even in potential contact with gluten. The only things I had to watch for was the beer, sausage and beans.
Living in Canada, a brand of gluten free beer I found quite good is Glutenberg. Not a fan of most gf beer but this one is quite tasty and served the recipe well. It is made from corn.
The sweet sausage was a tricky one and I almost missed it. I went to the butcher and got a coil of sweet Italian, but as she was weighing it, I remembered to ask. Turns out their recipe for that sausage did have gluten. They assured me the mild Italian was gf though, and was processed in a gf environment, so I got that.
As for the beans, it wasn't hard to find gf versions of these. Most are. But some of the flavored types have gluten, and others are processed in a facility that processes gluten. All the same, it was difficult to find some without.
For Canadians, canned beans don't come in 15 fl.oz. cams, only 19 fl.oz. so I got 2 cans of kidney and 1 pinto.
Turned out great! Totally forgot the jalapeño but the roasted poblano and anaheim carried their weight.
I was a bit concerned about the spice level since some of our guests, especially the kids, are adverse to spice. But the heat was pleasant, not overpowering and certainly complimentary.
I should point out that I also used standard paprika and not hot.
★★★★★
Eddie
Ben - thanks for returning to let me know how things went. Wow - you had some extra work cut out for you making it gluten free. I am so glad the recipe worked out for you. And I got to learn about a gluten free beer called Glutenberg!
Ben
This sounds great and I'm eager to try. I'm not keen on canned beans though. Have you tried it with cooked dry beans? Any reason to go canned over cooked?
Eddie
Hi Ben - I have never tried to use cooked dry beans in this recipe. I have no reason to believe they wouldn't work just fine - you should be sure to adjust the salt to taste as canned beans have some level of sodium in them that you will forego with dried beans. Please let me know how this comes out.
Paul
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I pinch the sausage meat into little chunks, put them in last, after the other meat is cooked, put the lid on and steam them for a few minutes. The result is little sausage meatballs in the chilli which I prefer to the sausage blending in with the minced meat.
★★★★★
Mark
Looks like a good recipe. Maybe you addressed this if the 50k word essay you wrote about the chili, but if you enter this chili in and International Chili Society contest with beans in it you'll be disqualified. No beans in Texas chili.
Eddie
Hi Mark - thanks for your comment. Actually there is a brief excerpt in my 50k word essay that refers to an earlier attempt of mine to avoid beans for the reasons you describe along with the ironic result (for context, I live in the Northeast). I am including this below so you don't have to read all 50k words!
* * * * *
I tried a number of different approaches in the following years, including a purist Texas style chili that shunned beans and ground beef in favor of unadorned hunks of stew meat simmered in what I thought was an excellent balance of chilies and spices. “Delicious”, someone told me after I placed third, “but it’s not really chili”. The award winning chili had beans in it.
Keith
Well, overall it was pretty good. It took me about 2.5 hours to cut and prep. But that's just me. I would say minus the bacon bits, they were very overpowering.
★★★★
Marika
I used this recipe last year in a chili cook-off and took 2nd place, but I did three things differently.
I did not roast the Anaheim or Pablano, I put the cubed chuck in a seasoned flour base to sear the outside (which turned out perfect), and lastly I cooked it over several hours.
This year I’m planning to follow the recipe as is (except cooking time) and will see if that bumps me up!
★★★★★
Pam
Won 1st place with this recipe. Forgot the beer and didnt have all of the peppers that this recipe called for, but it was still very good.
★★★★★
Eddie
Congratulations Pam! I find that this recipe has so many different components that it can withstand a few substitutions and omissions.
Klondike John
Made this recipe and won the first annual " Super Dools" chili cook off in Peters Creek Alaska. Excellent flavor, texture, and just the right amount of finishing heat.
Brad In NOLA
I’ve never made chili before.I’ve never roasted peppers before, which was totally cool and brought flavors I couldn’t have imagined. I bought a cast iron Dutch oven and I followed your recipe pretty closely, with the exception that I added a half cup of whisky about fifteen minutes before removing it from the heat. Everyone raved, and The leftovers are amazing. Thank you!
★★★★★
Eddie
Hey Brad,
NOLA is such a great food place. I am glad you enjoyed this recipe. Roasting peppers makes you wonder why you would eat them any other way. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment and a 5 star rating!
Dina
Making this today for a super bowl chili cook-off. I’ll let you know how it does! My husband usually makes the chili but this recipe looked challenging and sounded like a winner.
Miss Fit
How did it go. How did you do with the recipe? I have a contest this weekend.!
Ryan
Cries in 5.5QT dutch oven
Veronica
Of course my Dutch Oven is 6.5 quarts. Should I just plan on using a bigger pot from the start? Or, should I risk it knowing that I will most likely either have an overflowing pot or will most likely need to transfer to another pot which I don't want to do? What I'm really asking is, will this recipe of loveliness fit in a 6.5 quart Dutch Oven?
Eddie
Hi Veronica,
I would say go for it! The one I use is 6.75 qts and it just about fits so you should be ok. Please come back to let us know how it goes. Good luck.
Veronica
I can't wait to try this recipe! What are your thoughts of adding some Chipotle in Adobo sauce. It would add some smokiness and a bit more heat (I love spicy so that doesn't scare me!). Do you think that would be too much with this recipe???
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Veronica, I think that would be totally fine and probably delicious. This recipe already has a fair amount of heat, so I would consider toning down the cayenne, but that's up to you.
Carol crandall
Excited to try this
Eddie
I hope you do Carol. Please keep me posted.
Hill Snellings
Love Eddie, love Lisa, love this recipe! (Love Eddie's cocktail too, but that's a different thread.)
So we're in the midst of the Two Foot snow of January 2022, and what better to do than make some chili. And of course this is my "go to" recipe. Based on supplies on hand, I modified the recipe a little. For the beef roast I used 1.5 pounds of buffalo roast. For the ground beef, I substituted a ground buffalo/ground buffalo liver.
So let me put in a plug right now for Buffalo. The only red meat you should eat. Low in fat, high in Omega 3, and good for the planet because they renew the prairie. I highly recommend Wild Idea Buffalo. They are entirely grass fed, and they do humane harvest. I don't know another company that does that. Super high quality. And, because Bison is low in fat, no need to skim the fat. Super delicious. (I made my version mild, but I also submerged whole Guajillo and Chipotle dried chiles during the simmering for added chile flavor.) Panning the Globe is the best! Thank you Lisa and Eddie!
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Hill,
Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and praise for Panning the Globe. Glad you enjoyed this chili. And if you ever choose to change your career, there is no doubt in my mind that Wild Bill Buffalo would hire you as a pitchman. I will have to give buffalo a try soon!
John A Richardson
So I been making your chili for several years now for BBQ's tail gating family gatherings and it is always a hit. Many people ask me if it is my recipe. After some kidding around I refer them to Eddies award winning chili. After realizing how much time and effort goes into make this chili they just ask me to make it.
(Lazy Jackwagons)
So I renamed your chili we now call it Jackwagon Chili
Thanks for the recipe it has brought may smiles to my family and friends.
★★★★★
Eddie
Jackwagon Chili - I like the sound of that! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment. Made my day!
Jeff Heruth
I have tried 15-20 other highly rated chili recipes. This was the best chili I have ever made.
The only change I made was to drain the beans and added water to the can. Since I had other recipes ruined by the added flavor of bean juice.
1X filled up my dutch over to the brim.
★★★★★
Eddie
Thanks for the comment and the five star rating Jeff! I am making this chili later this week. So good for this time of year up in the Northeast.
Dan
That a "vegetarian" chili was even allowed, much less wins a cook off demonstrates that the cook off is to be given no credence, and a joke. The definition of chili is a combination of meat and peppers, spices, sometimes with beans and tomatoes. Vega chili doesn't even have a dictionary reference, cause it ain't chili. Your recipe looks very good. Too bad you got cheated cause a bunch of fools ran that show.
Eddie
Dan - thanks, I could have used you on the judge's panel that day to talk some sense into the others!
Christina Anderson
I have been making Guy Fieri’s recipe for Dragon’s Breath Chili for years, and this recipe is incredibly similar to his.
Eddie
Hi Christina,
Yes, as I say in the blog post, this is a direct adaptation of Guy Fieri's recipe so it is very similar other than the adaptations I have made. I hope you will give it a try and see what you think.
Craig
I still feel like I cannot properly review this yet as I have always been missing a few ingredients each time. But, having made this several times with all of the spices, I can at least say that blend is perfect. With various substitutes (no sausage one time, no fresh Poblanos another time etc) it is still an excellent recipe. This time I have everything except the meats…only using ground beef and using habanero instead of jalapeños just for a little punishment. One of these days I am going to make sure I have everything and make it precisely. Great recipe.
★★★★★
Eddie
Hi Craig - one of the great things about having so many ingredients is that a substitution here or there doesn't take away from the overall great flavor of this recipe. I am glad you are enjoying your variations and I hope you can find all of these ingredients one day soon.