Beef and Pork Chili

This makes a lot of chili! My Dutch oven is 6.5 quarts and it’s nearly full. Make sure you have a pot big enough or cut the ingredients in half if you don’t.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook it until browned and crisp. Once the bacon is crisp, spoon off most of the grease and discard it. Then, add the garlic, onions, green peppers, chipotle peppers and jalapeno to the pot. Give it a good stir and add in all the spices as well. Cook this for several minutes until everything is a bit tender.

While the onions and peppers are cooking, brown the beef in a large skillet. Drain off most of the fat and then add it to the pot with everything else. You can also cook it directly in the pot after the onions and peppers are tender, but I like to remove some of the fat first, otherwise this can be a very greasy chili (but still delicious!). Some people like it that way, so it’s up to you. Do the same with the pork sausage, either brown it first and remove the fat or just cook it directly in the pot.

Once the meat has been added into the pot, add the beer, beans and tomatoes. You’ll give it a good stir, reduce the heat to low and then let it simmer for 90 minutes or longer. This is a minimum, I like to let is simmer for closer to 2.5 hours to really let the flavors meld.

Dig in! Serve over hot dogs with diced onions and cheddar cheese. Or, my favorite, in a bowl with sour cream, cheddar cheese, sliced green onions and tortilla chips.