September 16, 2015

Beef, Bacon, Beer, And Beans Camping Chili

Not to brag or anything, but we make good chili in my family. Great chili. Prize-winning chili. We have an award in the form of a golden ladle hanging in our kitchen to prove it.camping chili


By 'we' and 'family,' I should admit that I mean my wife makes the good, great, prize-winning chili. I help, of course, but the recipes are hers.

And this is my favorite chili recipe. The bulk of it comes from four B's: beef, beans, bacon, and beer.

I know that some chili purists will insist that if you put beans into it, it's not chili, and that's fine. We call it chili, but you can call it whatever you like. Trust me, once you taste it, you won't care what its proper name is.

SARAH'S FIRST-PRIZE BEER, BACON, BEANS, AND BEEF CHILI

What you need:
Ingredients

  •  1 pound bacon ends and pieces
  •  1 large onion, finely chopped
  •  2 large garlic cloves, minced
  •  2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  •  1-3 tablespoon chili powder
  •  3 teaspoons ground cumin
  •  3-4 teaspoons smoked paprika
  •  1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  •  About 1 tsp. salt (more to taste)
  •  2 cans crushed fire-roasted tomatoes or regular crushed tomatoes (or 6-8 fresh tomatoes diced)
  •  1 bottle medium-bodied beer
  •  2-3 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  •  2 can (14.5 oz.) pinto beans, drained
  •  Assorted toppings: sour cream, sliced green onions, diced jalapeno, coarsely shredded cheddar cheese, crispy bacon crumbles

Equipment
Dutch oven with lid or pot for camp stove
The cooking:
In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, cook bacon, stirring until it just begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Drain off bacon fat. Add onion, lower heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5-8 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute.

Increase heat to medium-high and add ground beef; break it up with a wooden spoon and stir gently until it loses its raw color, 8-10 minutes. Stir in spices and salt and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer, and Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook 30 minutes.

Add beans and cook on low heat uncovered 10-15 minutes until desired consistency. (If using a crockpot at home before you leave, add all ingredients to the crockpot at this point and simmer on low for 6 hours or until chili is your desired consistency). Season to taste with salt, more smoked paprika, chili powder, etc.

I'd say the smoked paprika is your secret weapon here, but the bacon and beer are also serious contenders for that title?or they would be, if they weren't essentially part of the recipe's name. People tasting this may be able to identify the four B's that go into making it so good, but the smoked paprika should give them pause. That spice certainly helps to set this chili apart from others, whether you're in a chili cook-off or are just feeding a group of hungry hikers.

One of the best things about this meal is that chili is customizable. You can eliminate one of the B's if you want (though I certainly can't imagine why) or add another (bok choy, I guess). The key is to taste it all along the way and tweak it as you go, from the prep table to when it's already been simmering for a while. My main contribution to this recipe comes at the very end, when I consider a spoonful and invariably add a little more smoked paprika. I'm not saying that my 11th hour spice adjustments were what helped us clench first place–but they certainly didn't hurt.

Tagged Dinner