While in California, I took advantage of the in-laws extra large kitchen and spent one afternoon making some of my Chipotle Garlic Chili (or a version close to that). I had to change up the ingredients a bit given that one cannot find Fatalii powder in a regular grocery store.

California Version Ingredients:
1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (seed chipotles, keep adobo)
1 16oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6oz. can of tomato sauce
4lbs beef chuck (Chopped into 1 inch cubes)
1 head elephant garlic (diced)
1 large white onion (diced)
10 strips of bacon
Cayenne powder
Cumin powder
Chili powder
Chipotle powder

The steps involved are simple:
1. Cook the bacon in a large pot (this is a one pot chili) until crisp. Leave bacon fat in pan and set bacon aside for addition later. While the bacon is cooking, prepare the vegetables (dice the onions and garlic).
2. Once the bacon has been removed from the pan, add the onions and garlic - sauté until golden brown. While those are cooking, chop your meat.
3. Add all the meat to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer red - about 20-30 minutes.
4. Once the meat has been cooked add all the wet ingredients - the chipotles, adobo sauce, and tomatoes. Stir in seasonings as well (to taste - go heavy on the chipotle powder).
5. That’s it - let the mixture simmer until the meat melts in your mouth - about 2-3 hours. Remember to stir occasionally and enjoy!

California Chipotle Garlic Chili - Cooking

California Chipotle Garlic Chili - Finished & Naked

California Chipotle Garlic Chili - All Dressed Up

The first weekend back in town, the wife and I wanted to cook something up that would get us through the busy week ahead so I volunteered to make yet another batch of my Chipotle Garlic Chili. Since the wife does not like the bigger chunks of beef that I used in the California version, I went with a Tri Tip Roast and cube the meat into 1/2 cubes - very time consuming but it made for a nice and even textured chili.

NY Version Ingredients:
1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (seed chipotles, keep adobo)
1 16oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cans (6 oz) of Chipotle Sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
4lbs beef tip roast (Chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 head elephant garlic (diced)
1 large white onion (diced)
10 strips of bacon
Cayenne powder
Cumin powder
Chili powder
Chipotle powder

NY Chipotle Garlic Chili - Cooking

NY Chipotle Garlic Chili - All Dressed Up

Which one was better? Hard to say, even though the basic ingredients are the same these chili’s were pretty different. For me, I liked the California version a bit more - bigger chunks of meat and the bacon used initially was of higher quality (giving the chili a better flavor). But truth be told, we polished off the NY chili quickly - one batch lasted us an entire week with just enough left over for a Saturday Chili Cheese Omelet. And for garnish, don’t forget the chopped green onions - they really work well with this pepper heavy chili.