Prize Winning 3 Bean Chili

HSingARMYmom's Note:

Well, this is the result of being "volunteered" to represent my husband's motorcycle club in an annual chili cookoff. I truely think the quality of your spices will determine the quality of the finished product so buy the best spices you can afford. I've found that the local health food stores often sell really good spices in bulk. This is not a terribly spicy chili but does pack a bit of a kick - adjust the spices to your taste. I did end up winning 1st place - over 42 other teams - not bad for less than a week's notice! I like to preassemble everything I'm going to need the night before - makes it easy to throw together the day of and just let it cook.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 12-15

Yield: 5.0 quarts

• 2 lbs steak , boneless, cubed into 3/4-inch pieces (I used London broil)
• 1 ½ lbs pork roast , boneless, cubed into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
• 1 lb ground beef , lean
• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings (or oil)
• 1 onion , large, diced
• 1 green pepper , diced
• 1 red pepper , diced
• 1 banana pepper , finely diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper , finely diced
• 30 ounces diced tomatoes , 2 cans (do not drain)
• 4 ounces chilies , diced
• 14 ounces black beans , canned
• 14 ounces navy beans , canned (or great northern)
• 14 ounces kidney beans , canned (doesn't matter if they're light or dark red)
• 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 4 teaspoons cumin , ground
• 1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons black pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper (to taste)
• 12 ounces beer (I prefer a lager but whatever kind you like)

Directions:

1. The night before, sprinkle the cubed meat with the cajun salt and put aside in ziptop bags in the fridge, cut/chop/dice all the vegetables and put aside in containers in the fridge. I premeasure all my seasonings into one small ziplock to reduce searching for stuff the day you need it.
2. Heat bacon grease or oil in a large skillet (I like my cast iron for this) and brown meat in batches. When the steak and pork is cooked, brown the hamburger with the onion, peppers and garlic. Drain any excess grease - there shouldn't be much if you used lean hamburger (ground turkey works too!).
3. Combine all the meats, tomatoes, chiles,onions, peppers, beer and spices in a large stock pot on low heat or in your crockpot set on low. Cook for 2-3 hours on the stove on low or 4-8 hours on low in the crockpot - till meats are VERY tender.
4. Stir in beans and cook till heated thru (45 minutes - 1 hour) - you want the beans to retain their individual colors as it makes the chili very visually stimulating and the beans will keep more of their texture.
5. We like to serve this over crushed tortilla chips with a dap of sour cream or shredded cheese on top. Also really good with corn bread!
6. Prep time does not include sitting overnight in fridge as this is really not necessary - just convenient.

Reviews

[Chef #1414857]

I made this for a Halloween potluck at work and everyone loved it! It is a bit more work than just the ground beef variety, but well worth it.