Maggie Glisan, Kim Wall and Chris Diebel show off their trophy spoons. (Photo: McWallen Chili Cook-off)
By Chris Diebel
Each winter, my friends Matt McQuillen and Kim Wall host a chili cook-off. It’s a spirited gathering with a mix of guests — some who cook and others who simply eat and, more important, judge.
Any style of chili is fair game. They’re all up for consumption alongside Kim’s now-famous “chilicuterie” display of every imaginable topping (pictured below). Sure, you’ve sprinkled your chili with shredded cheese, sour cream and Fritos, but have you tried Bugles or Funyuns? You should.
There’s more on the line than bragging rights. There are three trophies in the form of carved wooden spoons marked “First,” “Second” and “People’s Choice.”
For the second year in a row, I’ve teamed up with my friend Justin Glisan to submit an entry. Last year’s effort included ground beef, bacon, three types of beans, dried and fresh chili peppers, Modelo Negra beer and a bit of honey to tame the heat. (I’d picked up the Modelo Negra tip from a Frontera Grill chili recipe by the Chicago chef Rick Bayless.) Justin and I worked all morning on our entry, finishing it on his Traeger smoker for added nuance. And when the hour of judgment came, we placed second, narrowly losing to a chili Josh Dreyer based on a recipe from Garden & Gun magazine that includes a splash of bourbon. I hate to admit it, but it was delicious.
So for the last 12 months, I’ve been stewing about our loss. This year had to be bolder! During my research, I found many recipes that called for a bit of chocolate or coffee. I get the nod to mole, the Mexican sauce that often contains chocolate, but it seemed like that could get out of hand quickly. Instead, I came across Grind Espresso Shot, a Caribbean rum blended with espresso. My gut told me it would add some of the subtle hints to chocolate and coffee that I wanted without inadvertently turning the chili into dessert. Just three quarters of a cup added a delicious depth that balanced the spicy heat.
I visited La Tapatia Mexican Grocery to peruse the dried chilis, opting for ancho, guajillo and pasilla. Once reconstituted and pureed, each pepper contributed earthiness and subtle heat without blowing guests’ heads off. For the meat, Justin and I chose a mixture of ground beef and diced chuck roast. A chunky trio of beans — pinto, black, and red kidney — stewed for hours in a Dutch oven, melding with diced poblanos, green chilis, jalapenos, onions, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes and beef stock.
After the chili simmered long enough for the meat to become tender, I hauled the Dutch oven to Justin’s house, where he smoked the chili for three hours. He added a side pan of beef stock to steam alongside the chili, to keep it from drying out.
It was a delicious labor of love, but had we done enough to win the top spoon? Alas, we placed second again.
Justin’s wife, Maggie, beat us with a New York Times recipe for Firehouse Chili Gumbo that uses steak sauce. It was quite tasty and had a Sloppy Joe quality we all decided would be delicious in a stuffed pepper. Kim Wall came in third with a smoked white chili that used a turkey stock she created from Thanksgiving leftovers.
As one friend told us, “Always a bridesmaid, never the bride.” Now, with a second-place spoon in each hand, I’ve already started plotting for next year. Perhaps I should follow in my friend’s footsteps and simply browse the pages of a favorite culinary publication? Nahhh. While I may turn into the chili cook-off’s Susan Lucci, it sure is fun to overthink a recipe while cooking with friends.
Chris & Justin’s Second Place Chili
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (80/20)
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
10 dried ancho chilis, reconstituted and pureed
10 dried guajillo chilis, reconstituted and pureed
10 dried pasillo chilis, reconstituted and pureed
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon Mexican Blast Blend (available at AllSpice)
1 pound chuck roast, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2-3 tablespoons avocado oil
1 white onion, diced
1 jalapeno, de-seeded and minced
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef stock
1 4-ounce can diced green chilis
1 14-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
¾ cup Grind Espresso Shot Rum
1 poblano chili
1 14-ounce can pinto beans
1 14-ounce can black beans
1 14-ounce can red kidney beans
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, brown ground beef, seasoning with Mexican oregano, salt and pepper.
- As the meat browns, slice dried chilis open to remove the stems and seeds. Heat a dry pan to medium-high and toast the chilis until fragrant and showing subtle burn marks. Next, bring two cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the dried chilis to the water, turn off the heat, cover, and let the chilis reconstitute for at least 20 minutes.
- Remove beef with a slotted spoon and place on a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Combine flour, smoked paprika, Mexican Blast Blend, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge diced chuck roast pieces through the flour mixture. Add avocado oil to the ground beef drippings in the Dutch oven and proceed to brown the steak chunks on each side. Once browned, remove steak and place on a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Add onion, jalapeno and butter to the Dutch oven to soften. Then add garlic and sauté briefly to soften. Add beef stock to loosen the fond that has developed at the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat to low. Add green chilis and fire-roasted tomatoes. Add Grind Espresso Shot Rum.
- Roast a whole poblano on an open flame until it is charred on all sides. Once blackened, turn off the flame and immediately place it into a resealable bag to steam for at least 10 minutes. Under warm water, remove the charred skin. Dice the pepper and add it to the pot.
- Once the dried chilis have been reconstituted, transfer them to a food processor. Slowly add some of the poaching liquid to create a thin paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the chili paste to the pot.
- Rinse beans and add them to the Dutch oven. Add both ground beef and steak pieces back to the chili mixture. If the mixture appears too thick, add a little more beef stock. Cover the pot and cook it in the oven for at least three hours at 275 degrees.
Optional steps
If you have access to a smoker, the added process of smoking the chili yields a deeply rich flavor. Remove the lid to the Dutch oven and smoke the cooked chili for two to three hours. Add a saucepan of beef stock to the smoker. The liquid will steam inside, preventing the chili from drying out during the process. Check hourly and add beef stock to the chili mixture as needed.
We recommend making the chili a day ahead so the flavors have time to meld. When reheating to serve, don’t hesitate to add a splash of beef stock to loosen the mixture as needed.
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