Three Bean Chili With Beef

Alright, alright...

I said in my post with the tasty Glazed Peanut Butter Bars that one of these days I was going to put something that wasn't a desert of some variety on here. I think my exact words were "a recipe with some variety of nutritional substance" and well, here it is.

The finished product, with cheddar dutch oven bread.

It's starting to get a bit chilly here in Milwaukee. We had our first freeze last night, so what better recipe to post than a thick, hearty, spicy chili?


That, my hungry friends, is a bowl of my three bean chili. It is about as basic as you can get with chili, but any great dish starts with the basics.

For this recipe, I start by browning three pounds of ground beef in a 6 quart dutch oven. For this round, I used 85% lean, but you could go as lean as you'd like. As soon as it hits the pan, add in one half of a very large, uniformly diced white onion. The onion I used in this batch was every bit as large as a softball - and then some. 

Once the beef is browned, throw in the other half of the onion and about a tablespoon and a half of minced garlic. and mix it all in.

Next, strain and rinse the beans. One can each of pintos, black, and dark red kidney beans. 

Add the beans to the dutch oven, along with 2 cups of beef stock, a 14 oz. can of tomato sauce, a quarter cup of cornmeal, three tablespoons of chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, cover and let simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally. If you must have a number, 2 hours normally does nicely. Keep the heat low to avoid scorching, and give it a stir every 20-30 minutes. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention to anyone who's interested, that I buy my spices exclusively at The Spice House on Old World 3rd street in Milwaukee. No, they do not pay me to say that. The chili powder in this recipe is their medium chili powder, and it's the best I've ever had... Anywhere. 

Serve in a bowl with your favorite toppings, and a good hearty bread. 

One last quick note - this chili, even with its three tablespoons of chili powder leans pretty far toward the mild side of the spectrum. If you like it a little hotter, add more chili powder - cayenne or ancho would work very well. My wife Mel discovered that a few splashes of the chipotle Tabasco sauce add a great flavor and the perfect amount of heat to this dish. 

Enjoy!

Here's the full recipe!

3 lbs. ground beef

1 large onion, diced

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce

2 cups beef stock

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 tablespoons chili powder

1/4 cup cornmeal

salt and pepper to taste

sour cream (optional)

shredded cheese (optional)

chopped scallions (optional)

Instructions:

1. Brown the beef over medium heat with one half of the onion.
2. Add in the second half of the onion, and the garlic.
3. Drain and rinse the beans, and add them to the beef in the pan.
4. Add in the beef stock, tomato sauce, and spices, stir to combine.
5. Let simmer for two to three hours.
6. Serve with toppings of your choice.