Chili con Carne

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Chili con Carne are Spanish words that simply mean “chili with meat”.  This dish is packed with flavor, nutrients and is easy to throw together. 

Whenever my mother cooked chili con carne sans any garnish, we simply ate this as accompaniment over a bed of steamed white rice. 

The chili con carne I am making today is very versatile as it can be consumed on its own or can be paired with garlic bread or tortilla chips or hotdog sandwiches to name a few.

There is one catch in making this dish though.  You need to have patience! 

While this recipe involves a lot of ingredients, the preparation is super easy…it’s the simmering that takes time but it’s totally worth it and the basics are straightforward.  The longer it simmers, the more the flavors will absorb together.

Also, chili con carne like soups and stews that are heavily spiced and made with numerous ingredients almost always taste better the next day.  In fact, this dish is just the kind of thing you want to make a day ahead: an overnight rest in the refrigerator will give all of the flavors more time to combine together and deepen. 

And, if you have a family like mine who cannot wait to have it the next day, it is highly recommended to make a huge batch to ensure there is enough to serve both for that day and the following day.

Hope you get to try this recipe and love it as I do!

Ingredients:

·        1/2kg (500g) ground beef

·        1/2kg (500g) ground pork

·        6 cloves garlic, minced

·        2 medium size onions, chopped

·        4 slices smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

·        1 medium size green bell pepper, seeded and diced

·        1 medium size red bell pepper, seeded and diced

·        3 tbsps. chili powder

·        1 tbsp. ground cumin

·        1 tsp. dried basil

·        2 tsps. dried oregano

·        1 tbsp. paprika

·        1 can (439g) black beans, drained and rinsed

·        1 can (400g) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

·        1 can (439g) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

·        1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

·        2 cans (411g each) diced tomatoes with juice

·        2 cans (411g each) crushed tomatoes

·        1 can (170g) tomato paste

·        1 cup light beer 

·        Salt, to taste

·        Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For Garnish:

·        Lemon wedges

·        Sour Cream

·        Shredded cheese

·        Chopped green onions

Instructions:

1.     In a large deep pan or cooking pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until it renders its own fat and it turns lightly crisp; stirring occasionally. Set aside.

2.     Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. 

3.     Add the onions and sauté until they start to turn translucent.

4.     Return the fried bacon back to combine with bell peppers, chili powder, ground cumin, dried basil, dried oregano, paprika.  Mix thoroughly and cook until vegetables are tender and seasonings are aromatic.

5.     Add the ground beef and break it up with the wooden spoon. Mix thoroughly.

6.     Once the ground beef is beginning to turn brown, add the ground pork. Break up with the wooden spoon just like the ground beef and cook until it no longer looks pink.

7.     Meanwhile, drain and rinse the kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans.  Set aside.

8.     Back to the pan, mix the ingredients and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

9.     Stir in the beans and the light beer.  Mix together.

10.  Add the diced and crushed tomatoes.  Stir to blend all the ingredients.  Cover and bring to boil over medium-low heat.

11.  Add the tomato paste.  Stir to blend.

12.  Add Worcestershire sauce.  Stir again.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours over low heat.

13.  Occasionally, stir to avoid burning the sauce at the bottom of the pan as the chili con carne thickens.

14.  After 1 ½ hours, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Stir to blend.  Cover and continue to simmer.

15.  After 2 hours, check it.  Taste for seasoning.  Adjust salt and ground black pepper, if necessary.

16.  The goals are: for the sauce to thicken slightly, for the ground beef and ground pork to have tender textures and for all the flavors to meld together.  Once satisfied with the taste and the thickness and consistency of the sauce, cover and turn off the heat.

17.  Transfer the chili con carne to serving bowls and garnish with lemon wedges, sour cream, shredded cheese and chopped green onions.

Watch how to make the best Chili con Carne: