I don’t have a “recipe”, per-se, but rather an approach I use. This is for a Midwestern-style of chili.
Step 1. Make sure you can let this stuff cook all day.
Step 2. Ingredients
Meat. I usually use ground beef, but any kind of meat works. I like to add some hot sausage sometimes too. Bison, venison, chicken, steak, pork, anything works. The meat gets fully cooked before adding it to the chili pot.
Canned crushed tomato is the “base” of the sauce. I would use 1 25oz can per 1.5 pounds of meat. I’ve done 1 can per pound of meat and it works, but is too “saucy” for my preference. Make sure it is plain tomatoes and not seasoned with italian herbs, unless you want your chili to have basil flavor.
Chili powder. I like McCormick’s. I just add until I feel the sauce it has the right shade of dark red.
Veggies. I’ll just add a bunch of chopped veggies. Yellow onion. Bell peppers of all colors. Crushed garlic. I’ve also added carrots and corn before to good effect.
Chili peppers: I’ll usually put 10 or 12 jalapenos, chopped and de-seeded, into the pot. I may add some serrano peppers, fresno peppers and other types of chili peppers if they look good. I also pop an entire habenero pepper into the pot and let it stew the entire time. The habenero gets removed before serving.
Other seasonings. I will kiss it with some chipotle powder, some extra hot smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste. I forgot to mention that I will put a little “Better than Bullion” beef bullion in here. Maybe a tsp. I’ll also add some beer sometimes. Any kind of beer works, but I like to dump a bottle of porter in my chili.
Step 3. All of this stuff gets added to the pot and you let it stew on low all day. Once it reduces to a consistency and veggie softness that you like, you add black beans, rinsed and drained. One 16 oz can of black beans per 1.5 pounds of meat works well for me. More or less won’t ruin the pot. I add the beans at the end so they do not overcook and/or get smashed up.
You can serve the chili with chips and sour cream, top with cheese, spread it over pasta, spread it over potatoes, make chili dogs, or just eat it by itself.
This also freezes well, and I actually thawed out a container that I made last winter and enjoyed it over the weekend. Tasted good as new.
Great thread idea, and I’ll be following to see if any interesting recipes pop up.