Now that the weather is getting cooler, a big pot of chili sounds wonderful. Caleb offered to share his prize-winning recipe with my readers and I’m eager to give it a try (substituting beans for the meat, of course). But my carnivorous friends should try the original version. Let me know what you think!
Top Shelf Chili
Recipe Courtesy of Caleb Holton
Ingredients
3 pounds extra lean ground beef
3 large sweet yellow onions (Vidalia, if available), diced
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely minced
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 cup tequila (reposado is best because of the smoky flavor it imparts)
1 lime, juiced
6 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
In a large Dutch oven (I used my 9 ½ qt. Le Creuset Dutch oven) heat up ¼ cup of olive oil over medium heat. Once it is hot, add your onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños. Sweat these ingredients until they are caramelized, then add garlic and continue cooking until it is soft. Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne and oregano and mix it well with the ingredients. Remove from pot and set aside on a plate. Add ground beef and brown it well. Once your meat is browned, reserve about ½ cup of the beef fat and drain the meat. Remove the meat from the pot and return the pot to the stove. Crank the heat to high until the remaining bits start to smoke. Add the tequila and lime juice and with a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Continue cooking on high to reduce and flambé to burn off alcohol fumes. Bring the heat back down to medium and add the meat, beef fat, and vegetables back to the pot. Add the cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes to the chili one at a time, stirring frequently to mix the ingredients thoroughly. It may take fewer than 6 cans to reach the desired consistency.
Caleb is a food enthusiast, aspiring gastronome, and Ina Garten fanboy. His dream in life is to open a specialty foods store and catering service. This chili recipe took 3rd place recently in a chili cook-off contest. Check out his Beer Bread recipe here.
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