Uncle Bill's Head Sweatin' Chili Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 large spanish onion, or 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (optional)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 3 chipotle chile peppers, diced fine
• 2 tablespoons ground ancho chile pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle, or cayenne
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• 2 small bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Serves / Yields

Approximately 3-4 quarts

Preparation Instructions

Set aside half of the onion, peppers, and garlic. In a large pot brown the ground meat with the remaining onion, garlic, and peppers. Drain the fat. Add the tomatoes, fill the empty 28 oz tomato can with water and add it. Add the tomato paste, the various spices and herbs, and remaining onion, garlic, and peppers. Cover and simmer for one hour. Then uncover and simmer until thick, usually three or four hours.

Helpful Hints

1) The individual ground chili peppers add a dimension you can't get from supermarket chili powder. 2) The chipoltes and pasilla de oxaca peppers that I use come dried and must be reconstituted before using. I use the left over water in the initial stage, adding enough from the tap to fill the can. 3) It's best if your chili is very watery to begin with because the longer it simmers the better the flavors blend. 4) I buy all of my spices and dried herbs from a place in Chicago called The Spice House.

This recipe comes from literally years of experimenting. The final product is a very smokey, spicy chili that should make your head sweat and you lips burn. If it's too hot, cut out the pasilla de oxaca (6-8 on a heat scale of 10) and/or the ground chipolte pepper. If it isn't hot enough add some ground habanero chili powder. Also, the measurement for the herbs, salt, and black pepper are approximate as I cook by the smell and taste method, i.e. it's spiced right when it smells good. I don't add salt til it's almost done if I add it at all.