The ultimate beef chili recipe, no beans, rich and hearty and perfectly balanced in flavor.
Most everyone loves chili this time of year, and it’s the perfect meal to make ahead for busy weekends, and it lasts for days as easy leftovers. I’ve made dozens of recipes, and we have always had a tradition of this on Halloween – I hoped to get this up ahead of time, but better late than never! This has become our favorite recipe by far. No beans, all beef, loads of flavor – don’t skimp on the 6 Tablespoons of chili powder! I promise it’s not too spicy. This is almost an exact replica of Geoffrey Zakarian’s Game Day Chili – I adjusted the tomatoes a bit for consistency. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/geoffrey-zakarian/game-day-chili-2306029
I try to use good quality beef for this – it cooks for a while, and anything honestly will work, but the flavor of grass fed works really well here. This makes a HUGE batch, so definitely plan to invite friends over for dinner.
Game Day Beef Chili
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 lbs ground beef use grass fed if you can
- salt and pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large yellow onions, chopped
- 2 bunches scallions, chopped reserve some for topping
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 6 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 12 oz bottle of beer
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 28 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken or beef stock
- 2 Tbsp Red Tabasco Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Green Tabasco Sauce
Toppings
- cilantro
- sliced jalepeno or serano pepper
- full fat greek yogurt, or sour cream
- sliced avacado
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground meat. Cook and stir occasionally, breaking up until browned all over and you can hear a slight crackling in the pan, letting you know the moisture has cooked away, about 15 minutes. Don't skip this long cooking step with browning the beef. Season with salt and pepper, about 1 Tbsp salt and 2 tsp black pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, onions and half of the scallions and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Make a space in the pan and drop in the tomato paste. Let toast for 1 minute and then stir into the meat. Sprinkle on the chile powder. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the beer and cook until almost reduced away, about 4 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and stock and season with the red and green hot sauce. Adjust the heat so the chili is gently simmering and cook, uncovered, until the chili is thick, dark red and flavorful, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve in bowls with the remaining scallions and suggested toppings.
Notes
