Are you hungry for some award winning chili? Well, then check out Crazy Charlie’s Chili recipe. Its easy to make (seriously, what chili isn’t easy to make), has a little kick in the pants, and tastes pretty damn good.
Crazy Charlie’s Chili
I love making chili. Its a bit like making music which for me is about improvising. I just go with what sounds good and the next thing you know you have a big old pot of chili to enjoy. Recently I’ve entered the chili into a couple of contests and low and behold, it won. I shared the recipe with a co-worker whose husband used a variation on the theme and won his office chili cook-off too. The first step to good chili is…
Preparation
You may be thinking, “Chuck, are you putting that great beer in your chili?” Nope, that is going into the cook. I find that the cooking experience is enhanced with a good beer on board. Hence, the Scotty Karate from Dark Horse Brewing.
Ingredients
I think the most important ingredient is love. No, seriously, I think its the spices. For Crazy Charlie’s Chili, you will need the following spices:
- 1 tbsp Chipotle powder
- 1 tbsp Ancho Chili powder
- 1 tbsp Mexican style Chili powder (what makes it mexican style??? no clue 🙂
- 2 tbsp Chili powder (you know the basic stuff)
- 1 tbsp Weber Smokey Mesquite seasoning
- 3 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Sage
- 1 tsp Tumeric
- 1 tsp Oregano (I go heaping on this)
- 1 tsp Coriander
You’ll also want a to add some garlic, onion, and peppers:
- 3 tbsp minced Garlic
- 1 large Sweet Onion
- 2 Bell Peppers (I usually go for yellow and orange for color variety)
- 1 Poblano pepper
- 2 Jalapeño peppers
- 1/2 can Chipotle pepper (including the sauce)
Plus you want some tomato and some beans:
- 3 14.5 oz cans of Diced Tomato
- 16oz of V8 Juice (regular variety)
- 5 cans of beans (I like a variety, so black, pinto, roman, and small red)
More Prep
I like to get all my goodies cut up in advance of any cooking, so dice up the onions and the peppers (including those Chipotle from the can – save the sauce for later!)
You might as well also get all the cans open and the beans rinsed while you are at it.
Lets Cook
Start out by putting your onions, garlic, and diced jalapeño and poblano peppers into your pot with some olive oil at medium-high heat. Cook those until the onions are getting translucent.
Now pop in the bell peppers, the chipotle peppers, and some of that sauce from the can (I go with about a tablespoon). Cook for a 3-4 minutes still on medium-high heat. Then throw in all your spices and cook for 1 minute more. Be sure to stir often to avoid burning.
Now lets add the tomatoes, V8 juice, and the beans and get everything all mixed up and happy to be with each other in the pot. Feel free to add a little water depending on what consistency you like, but don’t go crazy or you’ll throw off the spicing. Speaking of spicing, give the chili a taste. Feel free to adjust spices (typically salt) if needed. Bring the whole mixture up to a boil and then back it down to simmer for 40 minutes.
Voila Chili!
Grab a bowl and some crackers and….oh wait…
Better get a beer to enjoy the chili with…I went with Shorts Quasar Dank 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe. Do you have your own riff on chili you want to share? Drop us a comment. We’d love it if you’d subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr. Cheers!