RECIPE INDEX & RESOURCES

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Beef and Bean Chili


With the humidity levels finally dropping this past weekend, at long last we were able to turn off the air-conditioning and open up all the windows. Oh, how the return of fresh air and a cool breeze makes my heart happy. The moment an inkling of midwestern autumnal weather arrives, I can't help but be filled with the anticipation of seasonal foods, fall holidays, the return of caramel making, sitting by the fire, the scent of spiced candles, tapestry rich landscapes, and, of course, more comfortable running and hiking temperatures. Maybe even more importantly, especially to those around me, it brings the end of whining about the heat and humidity as well as those tomato-faced, dripping wet sweaty runs (definitely not my best look). Each and every one of these simple pleasures brought on by the shift in temperatures has me feeling not just giddy, but mood boosting energized.  As if that wasn't enough, cooler temperatures also means the return to making more comfort food meals. Ones perfect for the casual gatherings of family and/or friends. As well as ones creating incredibly intoxicating aromas in the kitchen. Like fruit crisps baking in the oven and a big pot of homemade chili simmering on the stove. Both of those are enough to make any good day, a great day. And if not great, then memorable.


If you have been searching the blog for a chili recipe, you would have found three of them: Beef Chili, Texas Style Chili, and Chipotle Turkey Chili, Each of them being different in their ingredients, taste, flavor, level of ease or difficulty, and stories. This time around I am not going to rank them or call out a personal favorite. Nor am I am going to steer you away from any of them or ever so subtly back peddle or insinuate they don't meet the standard of being better than 'good enough'. For a myriad of reasons I am fond of each and every one of them. However, in the spirit of 'the more the merrier' I need to share yet another one. I really, really do. Because this Beef and Bean Chili defies almost everything I believe about simple, super easy recipes (i.e., that they usually don't stack up). Although after one bite I rethought that long held belief. How good is this chili? Well it's so good I am convinced you will believe it was both an ingredient laden time consuming recipe as it is so intensely satisfyingly flavorful. In all honesty I wasn't prepared to be taken aback by how delicious it was. My fussyterian chili taste buds were blown away. Figuratively speaking that is.


Until recently, not even I knew how delicious finely sliced radishes are on a bowl of chili. If you haven't yet tried or added them to your chili fixins', you really should. But I am getting ahead of myself. I need to tell you more about this drop the mic, need to have a second helping kind of chili. 


With having technically less than six ingredients, it is almost unfathomable to think this chili or any chili for that matter could have such a mouthwatering delicious depth of flavor. This one defies the odds of a 6 ingredient or less dish potentially having a four star rating. If I told you the only seasonings needed are salt and pepper, you might be more than skeptical of this recipe. So where does the spicy, slightly smokey flavor come from? Would you believe me if I told you it comes a sautéed  finely chopped white onion, browned ground chuck and ground beef, a combination of some chunky tomatoes with mild chiles and some highly flavored beans (and all of their juices)? Well it's the scouts honor truth!


What if I told you this chili can be made and ready to eat in less than hour? Most who taste it will find it hard to believe it hadn't been simmering on the stove for hours. Can you tell I am smitten with this Beef and Bean Chili? 


While some recipes calling for onions don't always specify whether to use yellow, white, or sweet ones, this recipe does. White onions bring a sharper more pungent flavor to a dish and are a slightly more tender onion. And the first layer of flavor for this chili comes from a large onion, finely minced, and sautéed in vegetable oil. 

The second layer comes from two kinds of beef: ground beef (80% lean) and ground chuck. Compared to ground round and ground sirloin, these two types of beef are the juiciest, most flavorful. Between ground beef and ground chuck, the later is the fattiest. Which is what's responsible for adding flavor. Many prefer the flavor ground sirloin brings although it cooks up somewhat dry. However, when paired with ground chuck you can end up having the best of both beef worlds. So if you are a big fan of ground sirloin, use it instead of the more generic ground beef (80% lean). I will tell you the batch of chili made with ground beef (80% lean) and ground chuck was mouthwatering.


In addition to two cans of chunky tomatoes with green chiles, there are two kinds of beans used. Southwestern Beans come in a red chile sauce with mild jalapeño peppers. A mixture called Black Bean Fiesta have comes with a chipotle sauce along with some corn and peppers. Unlike many other recipes calling for beans in chili, you do not, let me repeat, do not drain any of these cans. It's where some of the magic is as the juices are what brings the moisture, heat, smokiness, and deep flavor to the chili. Other than some kosher salt and black pepper, that's everything that goes into Beef and Bean Chili. 

Growing up the only additions we had to chili were cooked macaroni noodles. To this day, I still do like Chili Mac. But having discovered how things like grated sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced radishes, sliced jalapeños, sliced green onions, and crema enhance the chili eating experience opened up a whole new world for me. 

I understand we all have our favorite, tried and true chili recipes. And heck, there are three other chili recipes on this blog. So why make this one you might be asking? Because it's 'get in my belly' irresistibly delicious, super easy to make, has no hard to find or expensive ingredients, and/or is intensely flavorful? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes! End of story. In all seriousness, this one, the simplest of all of the chili recipes, could actually become your new favorite. With the return of those anxiously awaiting cooler temperatures, doesn't big pot of chili, all the fixins', iced cold beer or margaritas, some cornbread, and a memorable gathering of family and/or great friends sound really, really good? What are you waiting for?

Recipe
Beef and Bean Chili (several adaptations to Joanna Gaines Family Chili recipe as shared in her cookbook 'Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering')
Serves 7-10
Updated 10-31-20

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 pounds ground chuck
1 1/4 pounds grass fed ground beef (80% lean) or ground beef (80% lean) OR 1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin
2 10 ounce cans Chunky Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles (recommend Rotel brand), undrained
1 15. 5 ounce can Black Bean Fiesta (recommend Bush brand), undrained OR 1 15.5 ounce can Chili Beans Black Beans in Mild Chili Sauce (Bush's Best), undrained
2 15.4 ounce cans Southwestern Style Pinto Beans (recommend Bush brand), undrained OR 2 15.5 ounce cans Mixed Chili Beans (Kidney and Pinto Beans) in Mild Chili Sauce, undrained
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes
Kosher salt
Black Pepper

2 cups freshly grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
8 ounces Crema (or sour cream)
3-4 green onions, sliced thinly
4-5 radishes, sliced paper thin
3-4 jalapeños, sliced thinly
1 9.25 ounce or larger bag of Fritos Corn Chips

Optional: Serve with some homemade cornbread

Directions
1. In large Dutch oven, heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the finely chopped onions and sauté until they are tender and translucent (approximately 8-10 minutes).
2. Add the beef to the onions. Season generously with salt and pepper.  Cook the beef over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has browned and is no longer pink in color(approximately 7-8 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, beans along with all of their juices, Aleppo pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add any additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
4. Serve chili with bowls of grated cheddar cheese, crema, sliced green onions, thinly sliced radishes, sliced jalapeños, and Fritos Corn Chips.
5. If kept in a sealed container, the chili will be good for up to 4 days if kept in the refrigerator. But you may need to add a very mall amount water when reheating.

Notes: (1) Instead of using both ground chuck and ground beef, you can use all ground chuck. Although if you are looking to ramp up the flavor even more, use a combination of ground chuck and ground sirloin. But for the increase in cost ground sirloin brings, my money is on the ground beef and ground chuck combination. (2) I have listed my favorite chili toppings here, but there are others. Like chopped cilantro, avocado, corn, and Cojita cheese. (3) I much prefer the creaminess and tanginess of crema over sour cream. Nowadays it's readily available in most grocery stores.