Award Winning Chili Recipe

Hello,

I know what you are thinking, what does a Yankee know about making chili? I am a Red Sox fan, so I am certainly no Yankee. And I grew up in Houston, Texas, so I know about good chili. This is a Texas-style chili, which means it has no beans.

This recipe I used multiple years in a row to win the Houston office (1,000+ consultants) chili cook-off, which is held to celebrate the Houston Rodeo.

It is fairly mild, but very flavorful. Mild by Texan standards, a lot of New Englanders think it is their upper limit of heat. If you like spicier chili, there are some directions to kick it up as well. In my opinion, making it a lot hotter detracts a lot from the flavor. Also, adding beans detracts from it as well.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp diced garlic in jar
1 medium sized sweet onion chopped (½ cup, 1 cup, or whole onion I usually use at least 1 cup)
2 lbs ground chuck or ground turkey (venison is best)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 14 oz can of beef broth (or maybe even a little bigger in case chili gets too thick)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes and juice
2 fresh jalapenos with seeds(this is where I play with the heat. I use one for extra mild. Sometimes, I will exclude the seeds to make it mild too. Alternatively, I will use more or even use serranos to kick it up a notch)
1 beef bouillon cube
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 cups of water
2 cups of bloody mary mix/spicy v8/tomato juice (spicy v8 is best/easiest because you can get small size and has a bit of flavor)
1 tsp of Tobasco
1½ tsp cumin seed
2 Tbsp chili powder
2½ tsp onion powder
1½ tsp garlic powder
1 packet Sazon Goya con cilantro y tomate·(usually found in Mexican food aisle of a U.S. supermarket)
1 packet Sazon Goya con culantro y achiote
1 packet Sazon Goya Picante -- Hot
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika

Put 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and fry chopped onion and garlic for awhile. Add meat to skillet with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Cook until meat is browned. Drain fat from frying pan and add contents to large pot.

Add to pot:
• 1 can of beef broth
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of whole tomatoes and juice (cut tomatoes in half or quarters, so they can dissolve)
• 2 jalapenos cut in half lengthwise (remove stem; remove seeds from one of the two)
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of Bloody Mary mix/spicy v8/tomato juice (preferably tomato juice)
• 1 packet Sazon Goya con cilantro y tomate·(usually found in Mexican food aisle of a U.S. supermarket)

Bring above to a boil on high heat, then stir in:
• 1½ tsp cumin seed
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 packet Sazon Goya con culantro y achiote
• 1 tsp of Tobasco

After 3 minutes, reduce heat to low/medium and let simmer (it should still bubble a good amount) for about an hour, then stir in:
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
• 1 packet Sazon Goya Picante -- Hot
• 1 cup of water

Simmer for about 30 minutes, then stir:
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika

Simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir and add additional seasoning to taste. If your chili gets to thick simply add water, tomato juice, spicy V8, Bloody Mary mix, or beef broth. Add more liquid carefully, it is hard to re-thicken. Note, the peppers and tomatoes should more or less have disintegrated when done. If it does get watery, just let it simmer to boil off the water. Also, after removing it from the heat, it will thicken some as it cools.

You can garnish with cheese, raw onions, sour cream, cilantro, and tortilla chips.