Chili Time!

Throughout this pandemic, I have been cooking chili in order to pass the time. The beauty of chili is that leftovers last for a couple of days and continues to marinate. Chili is a great way to bring out a variety of flavors as well as clear the fridge out of a couple meats. My favorite thing about chili is that you can put almost anything you want and still have a hearty meal at the end of the day. 

Tools

Large Staub pot

Can opener

Garlic crusher

1 large wooden spoon

cutting board

Ingredients

1 small white Onion (minced)

2 24 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of other beans

8 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons of Chili powder

1 teaspoon of cloves

1 teaspoon of allspice

2 teaspoons of oregano

4 tablespoons of smoked paprika

Salt

Mesquite BBQ sauce (optional)

Black Pepper

1 lb of ground beef

1 lb of hot Italian sausage

1 lb of another type of sausage or chorizo (lamb, chicken apple sausage, something that brings more umami)

Tomato paste

2-3 different type of chilis (generally I use jalapeños and habaneros)

1 green bell pepper (minced)

1 orange bell pepper (minced)

Mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Cheddar cheese (shredded)

Method:

1. On a cutting board, mince the jalapeños, garlic, onions, other chili peppers, and green bell pepper. Place in two separate bowls, one for garlic and onions and the other for jalapeños, bell peppers and other peppers you use.
2. Cut the meats into small pieces and put into another bowl. I like to oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, and some salt in pepper in advance until homogenized.
3. On the stove top, put in a tablespoon or two of olive oil and get it heated up. Once heated, put in the onions and crushed garlic and some chili flake and start cooking until fragrant and translucent.
4. About 3-5 minutes later, put in the bell peppers and chili peppers. Add a good squeeze of Tomato paste and continue cooking and moving around.
5. Finally add the meat and stir around the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the smoked paprika and other spices into the pot stirring constantly so that everything is evenly browned.
6. Once the meat is browned, add the two cans of beans and canned tomatoes and stir until homogenous. At this point, you switch the heat to the low setting once the canned tomatoes are in.  OPTIONAL: I like to add some BBQ sauce to the chili at this point to give it some smokiness.
7. Place the lid of the Staub slightly ajar and stir your chili contents about every 15 minutes until completed. It will prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom of the Staub and will get your ingredients well adjusted. After about an hour, turn off the heat and serve. If you are having it a couple hours later, still turn off the heat and put the lid on and reheat for latter. Season for salt and pepper accordingly.
8. Serve the chili in a large bow and some sour cream, cheese or whatever you like to have with. Save the rest for later in the week.