This recipe is something I’ve eaten my whole life. My strongest memories of it are on winter days, sitting at the tile table my dad built, after my mom came home from teaching skiing. I’m not entirely sure of the accuracy of this memory, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that this is my comfort food. And it’s really easy.
Beer is key. I love the subtle beer flavor that this chili recipe has. It really makes it taste like chili to me. I’ve made it before when we didn’t have beer to add, and it just wasn’t right. This time, we had some Baltika 6 hanging around, so I threw that in. This is a fun beer because it is a throwback to our time in Peace Corps, Azerbaijan. I was even able to find all the ingredients to make this chili while we were in Azerbaijan. I digress… So without further ado…
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 Tbs chili powder (more or less to taste)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Beer – 1 can, or bottle, or half a 20, or however much you want to use. I usually just use whatever we have around
- 1 cup beef broth (I use a bullion cube and a cup of hot water)
- 1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 small can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 extra-small can (4 oz) diced green chilies
- 1 small can (14.5 oz) red kidney beans, drained
Directions:
- Brown and drain ground beef over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and saute until they begin to get soft.
- Add cumin seeds, chili powder, salt, and pepper and saute until aromas start to smell good.
- Pour in beer and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the beans, and simmer for at least 1/2 hour to let the flavors meld and develop. The longer the better on this.
- Stir in beans when almost ready to serve.
When I was little, we would eat this chili with wheat crackers, so that’s what tastes right to me. My husband prefers cornbread, so we have that sometimes. Enjoy!