There are endless variations of Chili. Hot or not hot. Beans or no beans. Sweet or not sweet. Ground meat or chunks of meat. Beef, pork, sausage, lamb, bison, chicken, or even meatless. Red or white. And on, and on, and on...
But it's good to have a fall back. A recipe that is your standard. One you can make without giving it a second thought. One where you don't need a recipe in front of. Heck, you don't even need a grocery list for it because you know exactly what you need.
Why is this important? Well, it's important to have a few recipes like that in your arsenal. Recipes that you can crank out quickly and they always taste awesome. If you have a family you know that time is often short and that schedules don't always go according to plan.
Having a Crockpot Chili recipe where you can whip it together in the morning, turn the pot on low, leave, and come home that evening to a ready dinner is invaluable.
Beef & Pork Crockpot Chili
1 lb Ground Beef
1 lb Ground Pork
2 - 28oz Cans Tomato Purée
1 - 14.5oz Can Diced Tomatos
1 - Onion, Chopped
1 to 2 Cans Beans of Choice, Drained (optional)
1-2 Chipotle Peppers from a Can
Chili Powder
Ground Cumin
Granulated Garlic
Ground White Pepper
Kosher Salt 52/222
Brown meat in pan. (I season the meat with all of the seasonings while it’s browning. But wait until some of the fat has been rendered so the seasonings don’t get scorched and turn bitter.)
Transfer meat to crockpot.
Sauté onion in pan and season.
While onion is cooking I open my cans of purée, beans, and diced tomatoes and pour them on the meat. (I drain the beans before adding them but not the diced tomatoes)
I add the Chipotle(s) at the same time. (I buy the little cans of Chipotle’s in Adobo Sauce and just pull out a pepper or two depending on size.)
When onion is cooked I add it to the crockpot.
Stir, cover, set on low.
Adjust seasonings to your preference.
*I prefer to let the chili simmer for a an hour or so before adjusting seasonings so everything in the pot can mingle. But if I’m setting it before I leave for the day I can’t. So I’ll adjust right away and hope for the best.
**I prefer Dei Fratelli canned tomato products for this. (Dei Fratelli Inc, are you listening?) Not sure why. After years of using various brands that’s the one that suits me for chili.
***I have know clue what quantities of seasoning I actually use. I eyeball it. Typically just sprinkle over top of the meat sufficiently. If I want a smokier chili I’ll also add smoked paprika. And I use about 1/3 as much cumin as I do chili powder. (Not making taco soup. 😆)
Often we leave the beans out. My son prefers it without. I like a few. My daughter likes a lot. So it varies.
This is my basic framework. Nothing fancy. You can follow this to a tee. Or you can riff off of it with your own twists.
Enjoy!
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