Beef: Penzeys, Ltd Chili

By JoFClark

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t fresh ground Black Pepper
• 1 t ground Cumin
• 1/2 t ground Chipotle Pepper
• 1/2-1 1/2 Cayenne Red Pepper
• 3 T Chili Powder
• 3 cups water
• 1 26 oz can tomato puree
• 2 16 oz cans no salt added whole tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 16 oz cans kidney beans, drained
• 1-2 t salt

Preparation

Step 1

Brown beef in 2 batches in thick-bottomed soup kettle. Drain off fat and set browned beef aside. Heat 3 T oil in kettle over medium high heat, adding onions when hot. Saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add red bell pepper and Garlic, continuing to cook 2-3 more minutes. Add Back Pepper, Ground Cumin, Chipotle and Hot Red Peppers to taste plus Chili Powder while continually stirring until spices begin to stick to bottom of kettle and brown (about 30-45 seconds). Quickly add 3 cups of water, add tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and the juice they were packed in. Add kidney beans and salt. Add the beef but try not to include any fat that may have accumulated. Stir. When chili begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Ideally chili should be simmered 3 hours to let all the flavors blend together. Stir about every 15 minutes, while checking to make sure heat is not too high, causing chili to stick to bottom of kettle. If you don’t have 3 hours, use less Chipotle and Hot Peppers or else they will overpower the other flavors.