Bacon, Beef, and Whiskey Chili
At Flite, Joel's workplace, the first annual chili cook-off was held. Competition was fierce with ten entries, but Joel won with his chili featuring bacon and whiskey. This recipe is a combination of several online recipes: a basic no-beans chili, a whiskey chili, and a bacon chili. It yields approximately 3.5 quarts.
At Flite, Joel's workplace, the first annual chili cook-off was held. Competition was fierce with ten entries, but Joel won with his chili featuring bacon and whiskey. This recipe is a combination of several online recipes: a basic no-beans chili, a whiskey chili, and a bacon chili. It yields approximately 3.5 quarts.
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- 3 pounds rump roast
- 2 pounds bacon
- 4 onions
- 3 tablespoons garlic puree
- 4 tablespoons chili powder
- 3 tablespoons cumin
- 3 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 dried california chili pods
- 2 jalepenos, one with seeds
- 1 serrano chili one half with seeds
- 3/4 cups whiskey
- 1 tablespoon worchester sauce
- 16 ounces beef bouillon (i used organic better than bouillon
- 2 tablespoon concentrated tomato paste
- Carbohydrate 8.78479164085161 g
- Cholesterol 178.1970025 mg
- Fat 56.4889384219575 g
- Fiber 2.06289573953004 g
- Protein 47.5306401852858 g
- Saturated Fat 20.260812710531 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (373g)
- Sodium 677.293063341081 mg
- Sugar 6.72189590132157 g
- Trans Fat 6.4200847860505 g
- Calories 769 calories
Step-by-step
- he California chili pods will be used later, but they should be prepared beforehand. Take the two dried chilis and boil them in a little bit of water for 15 minutes. Blend and strain. Put aside for later use.
- Cube the beef into bite-sized chunks. Dice the bacon. Chop the onions.
- Heat a large heavy pot and fry the bacon until almost crisp. Scoop it out and set aside (so it won’t burn). You may want to cook the bacon in small batches.
- Fry the meat in the bacon fat until browned on all sides. You may have to do this in batches as well. Scoop out the meat and add to the bacon.
- Sauté the onions in the bacon. I really cooked down the onions so they’re super-carmalized and falling apart. Add garlic after the onions has cooked for a while.
- When the onions and garlic are ready, add jalepeno and serrano chilis. Throw in the cumin, chile powder, and paprika and cook briefly about 2 minutes.
- Next, we want to add enough liquid so that the meat is covered. Add the liquid made earlier from the California chilis. Add whiskey and Worchester sauce. Add bouillon and tomato paste to taste. (I think I added about 16 oz. beef bouillon made with the Better Than Bouillon paste as well as two tablespoons of tomato paste.)
- Taste and add salt to taste. The whiskey scent and flavor will mellow with cooking. Cover and set it to simmer for a 2 hours.
- It tasted great later that night for dinner, but it tasted even better the next day. After being refrigerated overnight, the flavors had the chance to marry even more. You can reheat it in a crockpot on low for a couple hours until ready to serve. One tip: If on tasting it feels like the flavors could be brightened a little, add a splash of something acidic like balsamic vinegar.
Boiling the dried California chili pods for precisely fifteen minutes before blending and straining unlocks a smooth, fruit-forward heat that powdered spices alone cannot replicate. Rendering the bacon first in a heavy pot provides enough rendered animal fat to brown six pounds of chuck and rump roasts without scorching the pan. Cooking the cubed beef in small batches ensures a proper crust develops on the meat instead of steaming it.
Substitutions allow flexibility without losing the core profile. To remove alcohol entirely, replace the whiskey with an equal measure of beef broth mixed with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to mimic the acidity. Cooks frequently ruin hearty stews by rushing the simmering phase, which leaves tough cuts chewy rather than yielding. Letting the pot simmer covered for two full hours allows the collagen in the chuck and rump cuts to break down completely.
Refrigerating the finished dish overnight improves the depth considerably, as the fats solidify slightly and the spices distribute evenly through the thick sauce.
