Hearty Chunky Beef Chili with 3 Beans
Hearty Chunky Beef Chili with 3 Beans
I just love that warming feeling during the winter weather with a spicier stew like chili. It really is in the stew family. When you think of Super Bowl or cold snowy days, what could be better than a nice steaming pot of chili?
I’ve been playing around with chili recipe ideas for a while and this one is hearty, flavorful, spicy but not so overtly spicy. All people don’t like spicy foods. It is more kid friendly than many recipes for chili that I have seen so the kids may not turn their nose up at it. Kids are more sensitive to strong flavors then adults usually.
This recipe can always be spiced up even more by serving your favorite hot sauce when serving so everyone is happy. Lately I’ve been using Frank’s hot sauce because I like the heat plus tang it has.
Always err on the side of less salt and less heat in a recipe, you can bump it up later.
Isn’t that one of the best parts of from scratch cooking? It’s to your taste!
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This is a chunky version of chili and very earthy made with 1 inch chunks of beef, lots of beans, carrot pieces and sweet red peppers to play subtle sweetness off against the heat. The real key to this recipe’s hearty flavor is the chipotle peppers in adobo for a spicy smokiness and the nice deep browning of the beef. Dishes like this are always a great prepare ahead meal as the flavors deepen and meld when allowed to sit for a while. A perfect prepare ahead main course.
If you’re having company so easy to have all prepared and kept in a nice low 250 degree oven to keep warm until serving time.
Serve bowls with some crispy tortilla chips on the side, shredded cheese or even a dollop of sour cream per serving. If you want added spice how about some pickled jalapeno peppers sprinkled on top? Also some nice corn muffins or corn bread would be a great side too!
Chunky Beef Chili with 3 Beans
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound stew beef cut into 1″ chunks, trimmed of fat
- 1 large onion, medium diced
- 2 regular or 1 very large carrot cut diced
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons (to taste) chipotle peppers in adobo (you can always add more later)**
- 1 T garlic finely diced
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup red sweet bell pepper diced (substitution:1 heaping Tablespoon of paprika)
- 2 T olive oil *or use the bacon lovers option below
- 1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Salt to taste
Note: Best to adjust salt and spice level after the chili has rested. If you do the bacon option below that will add more salt to the dish also.
Method
- Heat till very hot a heavy bottomed Dutch oven prior to adding oil.
- Brown all beef chunks well on every side for best flavor.Do not turn the chunks too quickly, let them sit in one spot and really get that deep brown color.
- Move beef to the side, add chopped onions, carrots and let the onions get translucent.
- Add the garlic (being careful not to burn) and chipotle.
- Stir well.
- Add canned tomatoes and paprika now or if using red bell pepper wait an hour to add so it will keep its form.
- Stir thoroughly, simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour until beef is almost fork tender.
- Add cans of drained and rinsed beans and continue cooking 30 minutes.
- The flavors will meld by letting the chili rest a while before serving or overnight.
Serve in bowls.
*The Bacon Lover Option: Instead of oil substitute 2-3 slices of bacon chopped into small dice. Start by sautéing the bacon, remove the bacon to the side, and use 2 T of the bacon drippings to sauté the beef, onions and carrots. Follow the rest of method and add bacon pieces back in when sautéing is done
**Chipotle in adobo is sold in a small can and there will be leftover chipotle in adobo after making this recipe. Freeze in tablespoon portions and then bag or place in a tightly sealed container once frozen for easy use later. If you have mini muffin tins or old-fashioned ice cube trays which are perfect for saving for later use. Freezing will lot lessen the flavor of the peppers.