Recipe: Round Up Chili

I created this Round-Up Chili recipe in honor of the Red Bluff 21st Annual Chili Cookoff – you see, I’m from Red Bluff, a town that has more cows then people. It’s very hard to describe Red Bluff to anyone here in NYC – but that cow to people ratio is the best I’ve found so far. I guess you could say I’m a country boy at heart. So anyways, the chili-cookoff is held the weekend before the Red Bluff Round Up and 100’s of chili mongers fill the streets of downtown Red Bluff. I used to go downtown first thing in the morning and stay till the last chili competitor was gone – tooling around the streets and tasting everything that was handed to me. This is where I learned to cook chili – you see my Grandmother taught me to bake, my Grandfather taught my to BBQ and my Mom taught me to burn – but the Red Bluff Chili Competition taught me chili. And it’s there I learned that chili is whatever you make it, so in honor of the upcoming competition, I ’rounded’ up all the ingredients I could find and created Round Up Chili.

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Pork
2 lbs Ground Beef
3 Jalapeno Peppers – seeded & diced
1 Red Bell Pepper – seeded & diced
1/2 Large White Onion – diced
1 Head of Garlic – coarsely diced
1 Can Mexican Beans
1 Can Black Beans
2 Cans Tomato Paste
1 Can Tomato Sauce
3-4 Tablespoons Chili Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
Makers Mark – Drink while you cook

Step 1 – Brown the meat and prep ingredients

Brown the Pork & Beef and while those are cooking, chop all your veggies and open all the cans – this will make the final steps much quicker. Drink.

Step 2: Saute Onions & Garlic

Once the meat is cooked, remove from pan and drain. Add your onions & garlic to the pot and saute in the little bit of leftover grease from the meats. Drink.

Step 3: Combine

Once the onions are clear, toss the meat back in along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix well and taste test – you may want more heat. Drink.

Step 4: Simmer

Cover (to minimize splashes) and simmer the chili for about 1 hour or until the red bell peppers are soft. Drink.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Eat! Top with sour cream, jalapenos and Fritos if you have them. This chili really picks up flavor the next day as well.

Drink. Fart. Pass out.

Written by Nick Lindauer

The Original Hot Sauce Blog

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