Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
Our Favorite Chili: A Rich, Meaty Masterpiece
When it comes to comfort food, nothing beats a hearty, meaty chili with just the right amount of heat. This recipe isn’t just your average chili; it’s a carefully crafted dish with deep, rich flavors and a velvety texture that warms you from the inside out.
Blade Steak: The Perfect Foundation
The star of this chili is blade steak, which provides tender, flavorful meat that stands up beautifully to the bold spices in the sauce. Its rich marbling ensures that every bite is moist and satisfying. While trimming the steak requires a bit of prep, the payoff is well worth it. If you can’t find blade steak, a well-trimmed chuck-eye roast makes a great alternative.
Homemade Chili Powder for Superior Flavor
Forget about the gritty texture of store-bought chili powders. By toasting and grinding dried ancho and árbol chiles, you can create your own chili powder with superior flavor and texture. This step might take a bit of extra effort, but it ensures that the spices are fresh and vibrant, making a noticeable difference in the final dish.
Secret Ingredients for Depth
What sets this chili apart are its unexpected secret ingredients: lager, unsweetened cocoa, and molasses. The lager adds a subtle bitterness that balances the sweetness of the molasses, while the cocoa imparts a hint of earthiness that rounds out the sauce. Together, these ingredients create a complex, layered flavor profile that keeps you coming back for more.
A Thick, Velvety Sauce
The addition of cornmeal to the chili serves two purposes. First, it helps thicken the sauce, giving it a luxurious, velvety texture. Second, it adds a subtle sweetness that complements the smoky heat of the chiles. The result is a perfectly thickened chili with a smooth, satisfying consistency.
Handling the Heat: Tips for Working with Chiles
Working with dried and fresh chiles can be tricky, so it’s a good idea to wear gloves to protect your hands from lingering heat. If you prefer a milder chili, you can substitute dried New Mexican or guajillo chiles for the ancho chiles and reduce the number of árbol chiles. For those who want a shortcut, commercial chili powder and cayenne can be used, though the texture will be slightly different.
Make-Ahead Convenience
One of the best things about this chili is that it can be made up to three days in advance. The flavors deepen and meld over time, making it an excellent dish to prepare ahead of a busy week or for a weekend gathering. Simply reheat and serve when you’re ready to enjoy.
Serving Suggestions for the Ultimate Chili Experience
To take this chili to the next level, serve it with a variety of condiments. Diced avocado, chopped red onion, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges add brightness and freshness, while sour cream and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese provide a creamy contrast to the rich sauce. A squeeze of lime juice over the top just before serving adds a zesty kick.
A Chili Worth Repeating
This isn’t just any chili—it’s a recipe that will have your family and friends asking for seconds and thirds. Whether you’re looking for a dish to warm you up on a cold day or something impressive to serve at your next gathering, our favorite chili is guaranteed to satisfy. Give it a try, and don’t be surprised if it becomes a staple in your household.
Ingredients:
1 pinch salt
1/2 pound pinto beans, dried (about 1 cup), rinsed and picked over
6 each Ancho chile peppers, dried (about 1 3/4 ounces), stems and seeds removed, and flesh torn into 1-inch pieces (see NOTES)
4 each árbol chiles, dried, stems removed, pods split, and seeds removed (see NOTES)
3 tablespoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 medium onions, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3 each jalapeno chile pepper, stems and seeds removed and discarded, and flesh cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, diced, canned
2 teaspoons molasses
3 1/2 pounds blade steak, 3/4 inch thick, trimmed of gristle and fat and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (see NOTES)
1 12 fl. oz. btl beer, lager
Instructions:
PREP PINTO BEANS:
Combine 3 tablespoons salt, 4 quarts water, and beans in large Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pot from
heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse well.
PREP ANCHO CHILIES:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.
Place ancho chiles in 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat; toast, stirring frequently, until flesh is fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes,
reducing heat if chiles begin to smoke.
Transfer to bowl of food processor and cool. Do not wash out skillet.
FOOD PROCESSOR:
Add árbol chiles, cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa, and ½ teaspoon salt to food processor with toasted ancho chiles; process until finely ground, about 2 minutes.
With processor running, very slowly add ½ cup broth until smooth paste forms, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of
bowl as necessary. Transfer paste to small bowl.
Place onions in now-empty processor bowl and pulse until roughly chopped, about four 1-second pulses.
Add jalapeños and pulse until consistency of chunky salsa, about four 1-second pulses, scraping down bowl as necessary.
DUTCH OVEN (Saute):
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until moisture has evaporated and vegetables are softened, 7 to 9 minutes.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add chili paste, tomatoes, and molasses; stir until chili paste is thoroughly combined. Add remaining 2 cups broth and drained
beans; bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
MEANWHILE IN SKILLET:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Pat beef dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Add half of beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer meat to Dutch oven.
Add ½ bottle lager to skillet, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, and bring to simmer. Transfer lager to Dutch
oven.
Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil, steak, and lager. Once last addition of lager has been added to Dutch oven, stir to
combine and return mixture to simmer.
COOK IN OVEN:
Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook until meat and beans are fully tender, 1½ to 2 hours.
Let chili stand, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Stir well and season to taste with salt before serving.
Blade steak was easy to cut into pieces and cooked up tender, so it served as the base of our chili recipe. We avoided the grittiness of supermarket chili powders by making our own. Adding cornmeal to our chili powder thickened the chili. For secret ingredients, our chili recipe relies on lager, unsweetened cocoa, and molasses.
NOTE: Wear gloves when working with both dried and fresh chiles.
NOTE: SUBSTITUTE (dried chilis): Dried New Mexican or guajillo chiles make a good substitute for the anchos; each dried árbol may be substituted with 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. If you prefer not to work with any whole dried chiles, the anchos and árbols can be replaced with 1/2 cup commercial chili powder and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, though the texture of the chili will
be slightly compromised.
NOTE: SUBSTITUTE (blade steak): A 4-pound chuck-eye roast, well trimmed of fat, can be substituted for the steak. Because much of the chili flavor is held in the fat of this dish, refrain from skimming fat from the surface.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Good choices for condiments include diced avocado, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro leaves, lime wedges, sour cream, and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese.
MAKE AHEAD: The chili can be made up to 3 days in advance.