This Chili is a staple in our household. Not only is it my husband's favorite, but about 20 minutes of prep work and a large slow cooker, turn this into 10+ meals for us. It is full of cliche "man-friendly" ingredients! Not only do the bold flavors come from things like Beer and Black Coffee, but it is put-hair-on-your-chest spicy! (Which can be adjusted to taste of course...)Now, I sometimes cheat with this recipe to make it a convenience food which may take away some of the strict "Paleo-ness" of it, but if you have more patience than I do, feel free to go all the way natural and dice your tomatoes and things fresh from scratch... I'll give you my quick and easy version and the more strictly Paleo instructions I started with.
What you'll need:
4 Pounds of Ground Beef (or turkey, bison, venison, pork, pastured unicorn, whatever your preference!)
3 Large Cans (28oz each) of Diced Tomatoes (To be safe, make sure you read the ingredients and get ones that do not have added sugars or other questionable ingredients. If you really want to be safe, you can peel and dice your own tomatoes. You'll need about 6-8 cups.
1 bottle of Gluten Free Beer. I use Omission since it has a slightly stronger flavor than many of your watery GF beers.
Black Coffee. About a 1/2 - 1 Cup. It doesn't have to be super fresh or hot, just STRONG. I typically use whatever remained in my french press from my morning coffee.
1 small (7oz) can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce. If you don't like REALLY spicy foods, reduce this to about half the can. Be careful to read the ingredients on this as well. Many of these end up with added soy products, sugar, MSG etc, so if you are sticking strictly to Paleo, you may prefer just using your own fresh or dried chipotle peppers.
1 Onion - either sweet or red works best for me
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
Juice from 1 fresh lime
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar, 2-4 tsp Chili Powder & 1tsp Ground Cumin
OR.... (and this is my favorite quick substitute if you have access....)
Instead of the dry spices and vinegar, substitute about half a bottle of Trader Joes Chili Pepper sauce. (Adjust the amount for your preferred level of spice.) It does have a SMALL amount of added sugar listed in the ingredients, so this is a Paleo compromise, but considering that this is a few tablespoons of sauce with a *little* sugar that is going into a 6.5 qt slow cooker, I don't loose much sleep over this.
Now that you have all the stuff, let's talk technique.
- Start with the onions. I find the flavor of the chili works best when I sauté my onions first, but I've never been a big fan of overly strong onion flavor. So I chop my onion finely and throw them in the pan with a little olive oil until they get to a nice caramelized brown color.
- Toss the sautéed onion, tomatoes, garlic, and chipotle peppers into a blender or food processor to get a smooth consistency. If you prefer chunky chili, you can skip this step for the tomatoes and onion, but I would still suggest processing your garlic and peppers.
- Pour the blended onion, tomato, garlic, and chipotle mixture into your slow cooker.
- Add the Lime Juice, Beer and Coffee. Stir together and turn it on High Heat to get it cooking. This is the base of your chili.
- Now for the meat! Brown your meat in the same pan you used to sauté your onions. I also add a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste, but this is optional. Drain off some of the liquid and add to the chili sauce.
- Let it sit and cook a while!
Really, your chili is edible within about 3-4 hours of cooking on high. But here is the secret to REALLY good chili.... It is always better the next day. I usually turn it down to low after the first few hours and let ours cook over night. You will dream of chili as that scent fills your house!
My favorite thing about this chili is it's versatility. It can be eaten as a meal all on it's own or as a compliment to other foods. It does very well in the freezer, so we usually divide it up into individual containers for an easily transportable lunch. My husband who does not stick to Paleo likes to eat his with some cheese, sour cream, and Tortilla chips. I love mine over riced cauliflower, or served over a plate of sweet potato fries! But get creative and enjoy!
