Winter Breakfast Chili Over Eggs in Sourdough Bowls

Note on scheduling: This chili can be fully prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for a few days. You can hollow out fresh bread boules the day before serving and wrap them tightly to keep them soft. When ready to eat, reheat the chili in the microwave for a few minutes, stirring periodically. Scramble your eggs, assemble the dish, broil the cheese on top, and serve.

Other notes: Make sure to wear gloves when working with chiles and avoid touching your eyeballs (or other people’s eyeballs. But why would you be doing that? Weirdo.) You can substitute 1/4 cup chili powder and 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper if you don’t want to use the dried chiles, but I highly, highly recommend you give it a try. It’s so easy, and very gratifying. I was able to find the chiles at my local grocery store. Regarding the beer, if you don’t drink alcohol (I don’t, either), you should know that only about 5-10% of alcohol will remain in the entire dish by the time you’re done. The beer is very important to the flavor and I don’t recommend skipping it.

Soak the beans for the chili: In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, bring 8 cups of water, beans, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove the pot from the heat and cover it. Let it stand for 1 hour before draining and rinsing the beans and rinsing out the pot.

Prepare chile paste: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Toast ancho chiles in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they’re fragrant (4 to 6 minutes). Reduce the heat if they start to smoke. Place the chiles into the bowl of a food processor and let them cool. Leave the skillet unwashed for future use.

Add the árbol chiles, cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the food processor with the ancho chiles and pulverize for about 2 minutes, or until finely ground. Then, with the food processor still running, slowly add 1/4 cup of chicken broth until a smooth paste forms (about 45 seconds). Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer the paste to a bowl and set aside.

Make the chili:
Put the onions in the food processor and pulse them until they’re chopped (about 4 pulses). Add the jalapeños and pulse until the mixture reaches the consistency of a chunky salsa, about 4 more pulses, scraping the bowl if needed.

In your stock pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are softened and the moisture has cooked off, about 7 to 9 minutes. Then add the garlic and saute until it’s fragrant, just about 1 minute. Add the chili paste, tomatoes, and molasses and stir to combine thoroughly. Add the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth and the drained beans and bring the whole mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to simmer.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon over medium-high heat in your skillet (the one that you used for the ancho chiles) to your desired crispiness. Remove it to drain on a paper towel lined plate.

In the same skillet, cook the chorizo until browned through (add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable oil if needed to supplement the bacon grease). Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked chorizo to the Dutch oven. Discard any liquid in the skillet (but don’t rub off the stuck-on bits!) and return the skillet to the heat. Add 1/2 of the bottle of lager to the skillet, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits, and bring it to a simmer. Pour the lager into the Dutch oven. Stir to combine and return the mixture to a simmer.

Cover the Dutch oven and transfer it to the oven. Cook until the meat and beans are fully tender, 1½ to 2 hours (I kept test-tasting the beans, since they took the longest — mine actually took longer than 2 hours).

While the chili cooks, hollow out 4 sourdough bread boules for serving. If you’re not serving the chili today, wrap these tightly to preserve their freshness for the next day. Otherwise, set them aside.

When the chili is finished, let it stand, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Stir the chili well and season to taste with salt. (Afterwards, you can store it in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator if you’re not eating it right away.)

Assemble the dish:
When you’re ready to serve your chili, heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Scramble 4 eggs in the butter until the eggs reach your desired doneness and then distribute them evenly between the bread boules. Ladle chili over the eggs in each boule. Top with shredded cheddar and place on a baking sheet that has been covered in foil. Broil on high for a couple of minutes, watching closely, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately with cilantro, avocado, chopped onions, and sour cream.

(Recipe adapted from Cooks’ Illustrated.)