Jeff’s 2009 Chili Cook-Off Winning Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

3# yellow onion, roughly chopped

4# chili grind chuck, season with beef spices, browned in batches, drained

5 garlic cloves, pressed

1 box low sodium chicken stock

1 28oz can whole tomatoes, drained (liquid reserved), seeded, and finely chopped

1 8oz can tomato sauce

3 T. tomato paste

2 T. Chipotle sauce

3 T. Sriracha chili sauce

2 T. cider vinegar

2 T. butter

1/2# frozen corn

Salt

Black pepper

Water

Dry spices:

3 T. arbol de malido chili powder

3 T. piquin chili powder

3 T. guajillo chili powder

1 T. regular chili powder

3 T. cumin

2 T. Italian seasoning

• Mix together dry spices and set aside. Note: I got first three chili powders at Nature’s Best Market at Maple and Cass, for 99 cents a piece.

• Preheat oven to 400. Spray entire inside of heavy Dutch oven with cooking spray, add butter, onions and salt. Bake for 1 hour covered.

• Remove from oven, briefly stir onions making sure none are sticking and put back into oven with lid ajar for another hour.

• After second hour, stir again put back in with lid ajar for another ½ hour (2.5 hours total).

• Place Dutch oven on range, uncovered over medium heat for ½ hour, stirring every so often, adjusting heat accordingly.

• After ½ hour, deglaze with ¼c water about every 8 minutes, four times total (32 minutes). You’re looking to create a very deep brown fond before each deglazing, making sure to scrape up everything off bottom each time. You should end up with a mass of dark brown oniony goo.

• Scoop onion goo over to side, add a little oil to pot and sauté garlic, about 2 minutes.

• Add 2/3’s of the dry spice mix to bottom of pot and bloom for 2-3 minutes.

• Add 2T paste, stock, reserved tomato liquid, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef, 1T chipotle, 1.5T sriracha, salt and black pepper.

• Stir.  Bring to boil, reduce and simmer for 1 hour uncovered.

• After 1 hour, add remaining dry spice mix, remaining tomato paste, remaining sriracha, remaining chipotle, 2T vinegar, salt and black pepper.

• Simmer for another 1-2 hours, adjusting with water as necessary. 

Completely chill chili in refrigerator before reheating and serving. Add frozen corn ½ hour before serving. Adjust spices and salt as necessary.