Smoked Brisket Chili
Needed a recipe to use up my brisket leftovers. Didnt find any that matched my tastes, or what I had on hand. Mild but flavorful. Took all afternoon, but worth it. Great meal for a cold day off. Won a chili cookoff at work with this recipe.
Needed a recipe to use up my brisket leftovers. Didnt find any that matched my tastes, or what I had on hand. Mild but flavorful. Took all afternoon, but worth it. Great meal for a cold day off. Won a chili cookoff at work with this recipe.
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 lb dried pinto beans
- 3 strips bacon chopped
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 lb smoked brisket
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 4 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 can beer
- 1 lb smoked sausages as in not fully cooked, smoked on a smoker (smells like delicious campfire) smoked sausage
- Carbohydrate 37.1963020320873 g
- Cholesterol 123.253952617681 mg
- Fat 30.9977130326877 g
- Fiber 7.61129671377507 g
- Protein 66.7351508035752 g
- Saturated Fat 10.4278285943753 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (590g)
- Sodium 1154.51707443907 mg
- Sugar 29.5850053183122 g
- Trans Fat 4.67640883619968 g
- Calories 716 calories
Step-by-step
- Prepare beans: boil in water for 5 minutes and let sit for an hour. Drain the beans and set aside in a bowl.
- I used scissors to cut bacon into pot (and I used the same pot I had the beans in). Render and crisp the bacon. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Fry up until fragrant and the onions are mostly translucent.
- Add the beans and everything but the beer. Stir, bring to a boil, then cover and lower the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours. Stir. Add the beer, stir some more, and leave the cover tilted. Simmer for 2 more hours.
- Serve with corn chips and cheese.
The Chemistry of Smoke and Bean
Rendered pork fat from bacon coats the dried pinto beans, blocking rapid water uptake during the initial boil and preserving their structural integrity. Acidity from the canned tomatoes and beer must be added late in the sequence; introducing high acid concentrations too early makes pectin in bean skins rigid, leaving them persistently hard regardless of cooking duration.
Maillard Reactions in the Pot
Onions, bell peppers, and garlic sweat in rendered fat until translucent, a process where amino acids and reducing sugars combine to build savory depth. Smoked brisket and uncooked smoked sausage contribute hydrophobic compounds that bind to alcohol molecules from the beer, dispersing volatile smoke flavors evenly through the broth.
Sequencing the Simmer
Dried beans require a five-minute boil followed by a one-hour soak before joining the pot for a two-hour covered simmer. Pouring in the beer halfway through the four-hour total simmering time allows alcohol to cook off while retaining bright malt undertones.
