recipes

Chili

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 big onion, like yellow or white, diced
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes - I like petite diced
• 2 15-oz cans beans - I usually do 1 pinto and 1 kidney. Sometimes I use “chili beans” or whatever the store has
• 3 tablespoons chili powder

Other spices to taste, these are what I use:

• Important spices
  • onion powder
  • salt
• Optional / to taste
  • garlic powder
  • ground pepper
  • cayenne
  • aleppo pepper flakes
  • ghost chili flakes
  • urfa biber flakes
  • (really just a bunch of different peppers in there to develop a more complex flavor)

Steps

1. Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic - try to get a little char on the beef for more flavor. Drain if you need to.
2. Mix everything in slow cooker and cook on low for like 4 hours.
3. Taste it and adjust the spiciness, saltiness, etc.
   • If it’s not spicy enough and you have time, add pepper flakes and let it cook like 30 min or so.
   • If it’s not spicy enough and you don’t have time, add cayenne.
   • If it’s too spicy, serve with chips and cheese.
   • If it’s bland, probably you’re lacking salt.
   • If it’s too salty, you’re screwed so be cautious with salt.
   • If the taste seems hollow or too much tomato, add more chili powder and/or onion powder.

Tips

• After browning the meat, you can deglaze the pan with a little water and let that reduce a touch. Then add that into the chili to make it more meaty. It also helps with cleaning the pan.
• The brand of chili powder can have a big effect. If you’re having trouble with flavor try a different brand.
• If it’s too watery, take the lid off for the last hour or so.

Using Dried Beans

You can substitute dried beans for canned beans - use about 3/4 cup dried beans per 15-oz can. Here’s how:

1. Soak the beans overnight in the fridge in plenty of water (they’ll expand).
2. Important for kidney beans and lima beans: Drain and rinse the soaked kidney beans or lima beans, then boil them hard for at least 10 minutes before adding to the chili. This is crucial for safety as these beans contain high levels of lectin (specifically phytohaemagglutinin in kidney beans) that can cause severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea within a few hours of eating. Red kidney beans have the highest concentration, but white kidney beans (cannellini) and lima beans also contain significant amounts. Slow cooking temperatures (around 180°F) are not hot enough to destroy this toxin - you need the full rolling boil (212°F) to break it down safely.
3. For other beans like pinto, black beans, or navy beans, you can add them directly to the slow cooker after soaking, but they may need extra cooking time.
4. Add the prepared beans at the beginning of the slow cooking process and increase cooking time to 6-8 hours on low to ensure they’re fully tender.