Geek Eats Episode 3: Curt’s Chili

Chili’s a no-brainer for a quick toss-together meal for the gang, but this is MY tried-and-true recipe that isn’t quick, but so worth it! I’d guess it’s probably been revised, and refined over a dozen times over a couple decades of trial & error, but the finished product is un-fuck-with-able. Sure, you can go get a chili mix, follow the directions, and you’d have a decent bowl of chili, but if you take a chance on this bit of alchemical wizardry I’m imparting, you’ll gift chili of the GODS to your pals on game night!

Ingredients-

2 lbs of ground beef

1 large yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 green pepper

1 jalapeno,(optional)

1 can of diced tomatoes & green chiles

1 can of tomato sauce

2 cups of red wine

2 heaping spoonfuls of chili paste

32 oz beef broth

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

1 handful of chocolate chips

• Seasonings*
• 4 1/2 TBSP chili powder
• 1 TBSP Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 TBSP Cayenne Pepper
• 1TSP Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 TSP Onion Powder
• 1 1/2 TSP Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 TSP Cumin

Dice the onion, peppers & garlic, and sweat in a skillet with olive oil while stirring, with a liberal sprinkling of salt & pepper.

Once softened, add tomato sauce, chili paste & diced tomatoes & chiles and stirring to keep it from burning,(don’t fuck this up). Once the heat begins to reduce moisture in the skillet, begin introducing wine bit, by bit while stirring.

This process takes awhile so now’s a good time to set the big pot on the burner on medium heat, and put some canola oil in before dropping in the ground beef by the handful. Do not chop up the beef, just let it sizzle while you combine your seasonings, stir the sauce concoction, and divide the seasonings between the skillet & pot. Add broth carefully to beef pot without disturbing seasonings.

Once you sufficiently reduced chili mixture with wine, cautiously pour over ground beef, and raise to a boil. When you get that good boil going, cover & remove from heat for one whole hour.

This period of rest is important, so take this time to work on a hobby, call an old friend, jerk off, whatever.

Once the hour has expired, return to boil and NOW you may begin chopping up the beef while stirring. After it reaches a boil, reduce to a simmer.

If you like your chili good & thick, now’s the time to combine a TBSP of cornstarch with 1 TBSP of hot water in a ramekin, and stir the lumps out before stirring into your simmering chili. As it continues to cook, it’ll help thicken it up! Also, stir in a handful of chocolate chips in now, and continue stirring & simmering.

For all of you folk that like your chili without beans, it’s done! If you’re like me, then the beans are a must, and it’s time to drain & rinse those cans of beans before adding them in for another half hour of simmering.

Now that you’ve got yourself a big pot of yummy chili, I hope you told your pals to chip in with some good fixin’s to accompany it. Corn chips, shredded cheddar, chopped green onions, and cornbread are all a perfect compliment to this meal that’s easily one of my favorite things to make!

Thanks for reading, and maybe tuning in to the video provided! Hit me up in the comments section below with suggestions, or verbal abuse.