You can get pretty fancy with chili. You can throw just about every vegetable under the sun in there, and switch up the meat with turkey, chicken, or even venison. The recipe that follows, however, is simplicity at its best. It has very few ingredients, and for those meat lovers out there, tons of meat.
This chili does take some time to cook; those chunks of stewing beef need at least a couple hours to simmer and break down. It's so worth it, though. No more digging through your chili for little pieces of meat. With this chili dish, the meat practically jumps out of the bowl!
Classic Chili
10 to 12
10 minutes
2 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 40 minutes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound stewing beef
2 pounds ground beef
3 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, small dice
3 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pat stewing beef dry with paper towels.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add beef in batches, browning on all sides and leaving plenty of room so the beef doesn't steam. Transfer beef to a plate when done.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the ground beef to the pot, breaking it up as you do. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until no longer pink.
Add the stewing beef back to the pot along with the rest of the ingredients.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 2 hours, until the stewing beef is tender.