Is there anything better than a warm bowl of chili on a chilly November day? If not, it’s certainly top five. Great chili is hearty, full of flavor, and has just the right amount of spice to warm you up from the inside out. That’s exactly what you’ll get with my Red Meat Chili.
The HIH Red Meat Chili is a staple recipe during the busy hunting seasons when I almost always have an extra mouth….or ten to feed. It’s super simple to prepare, easy to scale, and everyone LOVES it. Many chili recipes also have a lengthy ingredient list. Not this one. Thanks to the addition of flavor packed chipotle peppers and steak sauce, this chili has tons flavor without pulling out your entire spice rack. If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably seen my Sheet Pan Meatloaf with a Sweet and Zesty Glaze recipe where steak sauce is the secret ingredient in the glaze.
Since my husband is a hunter, we’ve always got a freezer full of various ground game meats. Elk, moose, venison, etc. in addition to ground beef can be found when reaching into our deep freeze. I decided on the simple name, red meat chili, for this recipe because it’s delicious with what ever meat I happen to pull out of the freezer.
Keys to Success
You really can’t mess up this chili. It’s so simple, it’s a great recipe to have the kiddos lend a hand with once they understand hot stoves. I recommend chopping the onions yourself ;).
- Purchase low-sodium or no salt added kidney beans and crushed tomatoes. Even after rinsing and draining the kidney beans it can be tough to balance the salt levels when using canned ingredients packed with high amounts of sodium. Using the low-sodium or no salt added varieties will let you control the level of salt.
- Do your prep work first. Chop the onions and garlic, measure and mix your seasoning mix, open your cans, and rinse the beans before heating the pan. You won’t regret having all of your ingredients prepped and ready!
- Know your audience. I was SHOCKED that my husband and his father add ketchup to their chili, but I won’t serve chili without it now, even if I find it a bit strange. Chili garnishes take a great bowl of chili and make it personal, everyone seems to have their own garnish technique. Cheese, onions, and saltines are staple garnishes, but ketchup, pickled or fresh jalapenos, sour cream, avocado, cilantro are also popular. This also comes in handy when deciding on which version of the spice mix you make, spicy with cayenne or medium without cayenne.
- Don’t skip the simmer. Once all of the ingredients have been added to the pot, the 30-45 minutes this recipe notes to simmer the chili is key to melding the flavors together. The chili will build in flavor between as it simmers. Give the chili a taste about 1/2 way through to see if you want to add salt, pepper, or any other seasoning. Make sure to stir occasionally to ensure the chili doesn’t burn on the bottom.
Chili + Cinnamon Rolls – a match made in Midwestern heaven
We’ve addressed that garnishes are very important when serving chili, but in the Midwest, especially if you attended public school, chili should be accompanied by a cinnamon roll. I don’t fancy myself to be much of a technical baker. I’ll make muffins all day, but I lack the patience and I’m not always precise with my measurements for more technical recipes.
I found a FANTASTIC and basically foolproof cinnamon roll recipe in the Sunny-Side Up cookbook, by Waylynn Lucas. The whole book is fantastic for breakfast and brunch enthusiasts. Tons of great tips and tricks for those of us who need all the help we can get! I did double the amount of glaze from the recipe at the request of my husband. I would recommend doing so if you’ve got a sweet tooth.
Red Meat Chili
Equipment
- large stock pot or dutch oven
- wooden spatula or spoon
- measuring spoons
- kitchen knife
Ingredients
- 1 lbs ground meat beef, elk, moose, venison – whatever meat you’ve got in your freezer
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped
- 1 additional tablespoon adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
- 2 16 oz cans low sodium kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons your favorite steak sauce
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup water
Seasoning Mix
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper + more to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- Optional for those who like a spicier chili – 1-1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until a piece of the diced onion sizzles when dropped into the olive oil.
- Add the onion and cook for approximately 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently to ensure garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add your choice of ground meat and brown on all sides. The meat does not need to be cooked all the way through as it will continue to cook through the process.
- Add seasoning mix to the meat and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring until seasoning has evenly coated the meat mixture.
- Add chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, steak sauce, kidney beans, and crushed tomatoes and bring mixture to a simmer.
- If your chili is too thick, slowly add water until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Taste your chili and add any additional salt or pepper.
- Simmer chili on low heat for 30-45 minutes
Nutrition
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