Beer Chili
Try not to think of this as a simple recipe for traditional Beer Chili, but more as list of base ingredients with a standard technique, that creates either a Duck Coconut Green Curry Chili, Pork Chocolate Milk Stout Mole Chili, Lamb Smoked German Ale Chili, Moroccan Tofu Chili or Classic Texas Steer Chili. With each version of this recipe, you can play off culinary themes and put your own spin on a classic chili recipe. You can easily double or quadruple this recipe for a crowd.
Beer Style:
When thinking about what beer style to use in making this Beer Chili, the flavor profile of each brew option will add different elements to the finished chili. IBU’s are not your friends in this cooking recipe. With the long 1 1/2 – 2 hours of cooking time, IPAs, Double IPAs and Session IPAs are poor choices for this recipe. The hop characteristics and aromas that make IPAs so special will be lost in this recipe, as the cooking and reduction of the beer will lend a very bitter foundational flavor that will be difficult to mask.
A more malt forward brew will benefit this Beer Chili. Thinking about the campfire and cooking with it, a smoked brew will add that extra dimension of flavor. Try using a Smoked Porter | Smoked Stout, Rauchbier, or other smoked beer with lamb, beef or bison meat, to intensify the old school cooking technique of cooking a chili by the fire, in a Dutch oven.
Yet a English Brown Ale, Roggenbier or Märzen | Oktoberfest mixed with venison or wild boar will increase the melanoidin malt complexity with the caramelized onions and add richness to the leaner game meats, while not overpowering their celebrated flavor.
Grind Matters:
Ask your butcher to coarse-grind or chili grind on any of the meats below, if they don’t have them already pre-ground in their case. This larger cut, gives the finished chili more meaty texture. One can also buy steaks and dice the meat with a sharp knife, to give even more meaty texture to this chili.
Note: Instead of using cumin, coriander and paprika to make a Beer Chili Spice Blend, chili powder or a packaged seasoning blend can be used as an alternative.
Makes: Four 8-ounce servings
Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | Sep 2007 | Issue #9
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 guests | 15 minute |
| Cook Time |
| 2 hour |
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This Beer Chili recipe will create a traditional chili, without beans, that can be eaten as is, or used to cover a hot dog, used as a dip and a great recipe template for many other styles of 'chili'.
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- 1 teaspoon cumin, ground
- 1 teaspoon coriander, ground
- 1 teaspoon paprika, ground, sweet, hot or smoked
- 1 teaspoon salt, kosher
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns, black freshly ground
- 2 tablespoon oil, olive
- 1 each onion, yellow, large, peeled and chopped
- 2 each garlic, cloves peeled and minced
- 1 pound meat, ground, such as beef, buffalo or bison
- 24 ounce beer, such as American Brown Ale, Amber | Red Ale or American Stout
- 1 cup water or stock
- 14 1/2 ounce tomatoes, canned, preferably fire roasted tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon flour, all-purpose
- salt, kosher to taste
- Eat Beer Hot Sauce Nor-Cal Mole available HERE
- Place a medium-sized pot or Dutch oven add cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper (and/or any other spices, if using). Turn the heat to medium and stir with a spoon until you start to smell the spices and they start to smoke, about 2 - 3 minutes. This will toast the spices, helping them release their flavors, and will heat the pan for the onions at the same time. Remove the spices to a bowl and return the pot to the heat.
- To the pot, add olive oil and onions (peppers and chilies, if using) and stir occasionally until the onions are transparent and starting to turn brown, about 7 - 9 minutes. This will add a depth of flavors created by caramelization of the simple sugars found in onions, converting them to sour organic acids: sweet, bitter and fragrant molecules. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Using a spoon, gather the onions and garlic to one side of the pot, creating a small pile and add meat of choice in one single layer to the rest of the pot. If the meat layer is more than half an inch thick, remove half of the meat and repeat the following step. Leave meat for 3 minutes; this will brown the meat, intensifying the flavors, adding more richness and complexity. Stir the meat for another 3 minutes to cook evenly. Add the toasted spices and flour to the meat and cook for another minute. The flour will help thicken the chili, giving it extra body. Deglaze the pan with beer, scraping the bottom of the pot to remove any browned bits or fond; then add the water, tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Once the liquid is bubbling, turn heat to low and let cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, then serve.
- Optional: One can dice a peeled white onion, grate some smoked cheddar or sharp cheddar cheese, have some sour cream | Mexican crème | crème fraîche to add some richness and tang or even a smoked salsa to have available for garnishing this Beer Chili.
Other Recipes That Use This Recipe as a Template:
