Three Meat Chili - Aunt Bee's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best meat combination for chili? ›

The best meat for chili depends on the type you're making, but professionals generally use a combination of ground chuck, brisket, short ribs, or diced tri-tip sirloin mixed with bacon and sausage to layer multiple textures and flavors.

Use lean beef, but not super lean meat. The best ground beef for chili has some fat, so 85% lean is ideal. Don't be tempted to use extra-lean beef or drain off the fat after browning the meat. The fat bastes the meat during cooking, which adds richness to the sauce and keeps the meat moist.

Our Chili Ground Beef is more coarsely cut than typical Ground Beef to ensure that it can stand up to long cooking times, without getting mushy. As with all of our ground beef, the Chili Grind is made with exclusively pasture-raised beef that has been dry aged.

It can also help tenderize the meat and add a subtle sweetness to balance out the heat of the chili peppers. What type of beer is best for chili? The best type of beer for chili is typically a darker, maltier beer such as a stout, porter, or brown ale.

Only Add Flavorful Liquids

Instead of adding water to your chili, add some more flavor with chicken or beef broth, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, or even beet or wine. Each one of these options brings out different notes and levels of sweetness that will enhance your culinary creation.

If you want more of a smoky flavor, add cumin, Spanish paprika, ancho chili powder, or a combination. If you are looking for more heat, add cayenne, crushed red pepper, or Hungarian paprika. If it's too spicy add a little brown sugar and some sweet paprika.

Sweet Onion

Sweet onions are great for caramelizing due to their higher sugar content. You can cook them into your chili, serve them raw over top, or even elevate your chili with a sophisticated caramelized onion topping! Some of my favorite sweet onions are Walla, Walla, Maui, and Vidalia Onions.

Cook, stirring with wooden spoon to break up the meat, until the beef is browned, 10 to 12 minutes. The beef will release a lot of fat and liquid — do not drain it; you'll skim the fat off at the end.

What kind of cheese goes well with chili? Any kind of shredded cheese would be good on chili but my favorite is definitely shredded sharp cheddar cheese. White cheddar, mozzarella, smoked gouda, and pepper jack cheese are other great toppings for chili.

Is ground chuck best for chili? ›

Consider The Meat-To-Fat Ratio

Ground chuck (made from chuck roast trimmings) contains the most fat, typically 80 percent meat to 20 percent fat, so it cooks up juicy and rich.

Add the chili powder to the hot oil at the end (to bloom the spices), and toss in the meat, their collected juices, and the beer, not quite to cover, maybe 3/4s of the way up the meat. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan! Simmer 2ish hours (you want the big pieces of meat to be all but falling apart).

Turn up the heat and let the meat brown fully. Once browned, stir in the garlic, dried chillies and cumin. Follow this by adding the tomato puree, kidney beans, tin tomatoes and coffee. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat, allowing your chilli to simmer for 20-25 minutes.

You know the saying, “save the best for last?” To keep your beans nice and plump, add them about 20 minutes before you finish cooking. This will give them plenty of time to impart that perfectly seasoned chili flavor to your recipe without overcooking.

Additional Depth of Flavor

Ingredients like tomato paste, cinnamon, coffee and liquid smoke can all add flavor hints that will make your chili cook-off entry unique. Roast your vegetables and use broth or beer instead of water for even more flavor in your pot.

Use only high-quality lean beef. Beef chuck works well because it cooks in a reasonable length of time and makes a good looking glossy gravy. A good cut is the chuck tender, which is sometimes known as a “mock tender”.

As purists would have it, traditional red (chili con carne) hasn't changed much over the years. It still consists of meat, red chili peppers, and spices—no beans, rice, pasta, or other fillers, aside from vegetables, according to ICS criteria.