I jump at the opportunity to combine two of my favorite things into one super-favorite thing. Nutella and bananas, peanut butter and chocolate, David Tennant and kittens. So you can imagine I was stoked to discover that not only could you make chili with beer instead of water, but that it was at least twenty times more delicious if you did. Finally, I had a way to integrate my love of good beer and good food in a manner more meaningful than just consuming them side by side.
This recipe is a combination of a few other great chili recipes that I've tweaked over the past year or so. It's cheap to make, vegan, and absurdly delicious. With the quantities listed you'll make enough chili for four to six people, or three very hungry dudes (my typical clientele). It also keeps splendidly and isn't half bad cold. Sometimes I'll make a big pot for myself and feed on it for two weeks.
If you're the carnivorous sort, you could probably integrate ground beef or chicken into this pretty easily. Maybe take out some of the beans when you do. I've never cooked meat in anything so I don't know how that works.
First, you're going to need to go to the store and find the biggest onion in the whole pile. Seriously, this thing should be almost as big as your head. If you couldn't use it as a blunt weapon, you shouldn't be using it in this chili. You'll also need these things:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2-4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
- half a teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or 1 minced chipotle in adobo if you're fancy)
- 1 28-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
- 3 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 15-ounce can crushed/diced tomatoes)
- 1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can small white beans, rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
- some delicious beer (pale or wheat ales are best)
- half a teaspoon black pepper
You'll start out by completely destroying onionzilla. Take out your sharpest knife and dice the beast to pieces. Mince those garlic cloves while you're at it. Chop the tomatoes if you're using fresh ones. You'll also want to open all your cans before you start, otherwise you're going to be wrestling with the can opener while your onion burns.
Heat up your oil (I cook with olive cause it's healthy but canola is fine) in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Once it splatters a little when you sprinkle water on it, throw in what's left of your once mighty onion. Cook it, stirring now and again, until it's just starting to soften and get translucent. Then up the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until the onion is very soft and almost beginning to brown. This takes me about seven minutes on average but I've known onions to be variable in their browning time so just play it by ear.
Stir in the garlic, then add your chili powder, cumin, and chipotle or cayenne. If you like spicier chili feel free to be generous with your spoonfuls. Stir everything together rapidly until it smells awesome (takes about a minute). Then throw in everything else: tomatoes, beans, and black pepper first, then about half a bottle of beer and some additional water if you like. I usually do six ounces of beer and water each, but if you want more of the beer flavor you could go ahead and pour in a whole bottle.
Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil, stirring often to make sure stuff doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Once you're bubbling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring sometimes, until the chili is thick enough for your liking. I usually let it go for half an hour but less is fine if you're okay with thinner chili.
When you're done, ladle and garnish with sour cream, cilantro, cheese, crushed tortilla chips, or whatever makes you happy. Beer chili is best enjoyed alongside the beer you used to make it. Eat a big bowl and then run out to enjoy your newfound championdom.