Jalapeno Business: Chunky Chuckwagon Chili

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Ontario Corn Fed Beef. Thanks for supporting the brands that help to keep the Crumb test kitchen running! All opinions are entirely my own, as always.

Every season has its rituals.

Spring is all about rediscovering fresh local produce after a long winter, and eating as much rhubarb as I can stand. Summer is about barbecues, corn on the cob, juicy ripe tomatoes and peaches, and big fat salads. Winter is about slow braises and hearty soups simmered for hours on the stovetop while the cold wind blows outside.

And fall? For most people, it might be about apple cider or pumpkin spice... but for me, it's not really fall until I've made my first pot of chili.

I'm talking about big, honking batches of the stuff, because I'm incapable of making chili in any quantity besides "humongous" and "ridiculous" even though we've only got two people in the house.

I guess it's a good thing that chili freezes so beautifully, huh?

How to Make the Perfect Bowl of Chili

Chili is such a staple for me that I've made dozens (or maybe even hundreds) of batches over the years.

It's gotten to the point that I don't even really need a recipe any more. I just throw a bunch of stuff into the pot until it tastes good - sometimes it's chunks of chorizo with a six-bean blend, sometimes it's black beans and pumpkin, and sometimes it's ground turkey with sweet peppers and corn and white kidney beans.

Heck, sometimes I even skip the tomatoes altogether, and whip up a bowl of white chicken chili.

But regardless of what goes into the chili itself, all the chili connoisseurs will tell you that the most crucial part to making the perfect bowl of chili is the toppings.

My go-to combination is a handful of grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese and a sprinkling of green onions, but if I'm feeling a little extra I may throw on some sour cream, cilantro, and even sliced jalapenos or a sprinkling of crumbled tortilla chips. There really is no such thing as too many garnishes!

A Back-to-Basics Chili Recipe

This particular version is very much about going back to the basics and focusing on just the essentials. It's got chunks of tender slow-cooked stewing beef, hearty pinto beans, and rich layered blend of spices that balances between savoury, smoky and sweet, with just enough heat to keep you warm on a chilly fall evening.

So, what's the secret to this chili's intense flavour? A can of dark beer and a dollop of molasses for a touch of deep dark sweetness, along with a generous dash of chipotle powder to add just the right amount of smokiness. (If you're not into beer, a rich beef stock will do just fine.)

And while the long ingredient list might seem daunting, trust me when I say that this chili is easy enough to throw together on a rainy weekend afternoon.

It’s as simple as throwing everything into your largest, heaviest pot, and then letting it simmer away while you relax for a few hours, preferably with the company of a good book and a snuggly cat.

Using Stewing Beef For Chili

Most chili is made with ground beef because it cooks much quicker, but it's hard to beat the flavour and texture you get from using whole chunks of stewing beef.

The only catch with using stewing beef is that you need to plan ahead, so that the chili can simmer away on your stovetop for a few hours. Then again, that's a pretty nice way to spend a cold winter afternoon, puttering around the house while the chili does its thing and fills the whole house with a delicious smoky, spicy aroma. (Or, if you've got better things to do, throw the whole shebang into a slow cooker and let it do its thing for a few hours.)

The hours-long simmer not only breaks down tough stewing beef into melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, but also blends that long list of ingredients into a perfect balance of spicy, smoky and sweet that is the hallmark of a great bowl of chili.

If you're really in a hurry, though, you can substitute 2 lbs of ground beef for the stewing beef in this recipe, and then shorten the simmering time to 30 minutes. This version won't have quite the same complex depth of flavour, but it'll still be plenty delicious nonetheless.

It's the kind of food that'll warm you right down to your toes. Because, after all, isn't that what fall is really about?

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