Beef & Spolumbo’s Sausage Chili
My goal this week: to be in bed by 10 every night. (With a book, if possible.) And to chip away at the contents of my freezer, which is currently being held closed by duct tape. Also: go to the gym.
(Check. Except for the early bedtime part.)
Confession: many of the containers in my freezer contain chili. It’s not that I’m particularly fanatical about chili, but it is the sort of thing I tend to make in large batches, often to use up surplus meat or beans, and rarely do we get through an entire pot. I fancy myself the sort to come home after a long day, slide whole potatoes in the oven and some frozen chili on the stove, and have chili baked potatoes in no time. I hardly ever do this, but I love the idea. It makes me feel very on the ball, like a squirrel with an overflowing nut tree. That must be held closed with tape.
And so because I’m not forthcoming with new dinner creations this week (also? I left the cord that connects my camera and computer in Jasper, and it appears no one has any of same anywhere in Calgary, and so I’m waiting for the cord to be shipped back before I can upload any images I took in the past week) I thought I’d share a chili recipe with you. I’ve had a lot of requests for this one. It was tough to nail down a recipe, since my method is generally to toss stuff into a pot – I’ve been making chili for years – since winning the Calgary Stampede chili cook-off when I was 12 – and I didn’t write the recipe down that time either. Start with lean ground beef or sirloin, or try slow-cooking stewing beef in beef broth or beer, then starting with that. Sausage adds flavour, but you could ditch it and add more beef. And lots of beans.
Beef & Spolumbo’s Sausage Chili
AuthorJulie
Heat the oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions in for a few minutes, until they soften. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the beef and sausage, squeezed out of its casing, and cook it, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until it’s no longer pink.
Add the chili powder, cocoa and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, beans, beef broth and salsa and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour. Keep it covered if it’s thick enough for your taste – if it seems thin, leave the lid off so that the excess liquid can evaporate. Season with salt and pepper as you see fit.
Serve hot, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, or cool it down and then refrigerate it for a day or two; reheat over low heat on the stovetop. To make chili cheese fries, serve hot chili over oven-roasted fries, topped with cheese curds or grated cheddar, Gouda or Monterey Jack.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions in for a few minutes, until they soften. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the beef and sausage, squeezed out of its casing, and cook it, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until it’s no longer pink.
Add the chili powder, cocoa and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, beans, beef broth and salsa and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour. Keep it covered if it’s thick enough for your taste – if it seems thin, leave the lid off so that the excess liquid can evaporate. Season with salt and pepper as you see fit.
Serve hot, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, or cool it down and then refrigerate it for a day or two; reheat over low heat on the stovetop. To make chili cheese fries, serve hot chili over oven-roasted fries, topped with cheese curds or grated cheddar, Gouda or Monterey Jack.
I like that bedtime goal of yours and I like that Second to None deal too! I have a couple of sausages malingering in the deep freeze, so this chili is going on the menu for next week.
I didn’t know that about Second to None! That is fantastic! Can’t wait to go get some, they are even close by!
What does cocoa do in this recipe? Recently I had a meal in a high-end restaurant in Edmonton, and the sauce over the pork medallions was heavily saturated with chocolate/cocoa. Can’t say it was enjoyable. Is this some newish fad or what?
I commiserate with your freezer overflow problems. My problem is that can’t resist buying flats and bushels of fruit when it’s in season and then freezing it “for the winter.” I think I have enough stockpiled at this point to last through a nuclear winter. At least I won’t get scurvy…
HEY EVERYBODY! Julie blogged about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) so let’s show her some CSB (Community Supported Blogging)! Just 60 of us signing up for $10 each would cover her registration at Eat Write Retreat. It would be like a Groupon deal–when 60 sign on, the deal goes through. Just write “I’M IN!” somewhere in the comments page and when 60 have signed on, Julie can tell us where to send the cheques (care of CBC maybe?) This comment could be a guest blog on Dinner With Julie so everyone will know about it and contribute to a blogger who gives us more than $10 worth of recipes hints and FreeStuff in any given year. Just think of the ideas she’ll return with! And no, Julie doesn’t even know me! And hey, if she wins on the Beef website, we’re off the hook!
The freezer issue is a common one in my house! We buy, buy, buy but don’t eat it up quickly enough!
Joanne – you’re very sweet! Thanks for a wonderfully kind thought.
This looks delicious! I definitely want to try this. Love chili cheese fries which I haven’t had for eons!
Thanks for the recipe Julie!