Over the Top Chili

This is by far my favorite way to do chili. The great thing is you can really adjust it to your own favorite recipe.

What is it?

You can make this chili with basically any of your favorite recipes. However, instead of first browning the ground beef in the pot, you smoke the ground beef over the pot. This allows it to smoke while the juices drop in the pot, resulting in a savory smokey chili treat.

Notes:

• I use three chili powders. The chipotle is hot and smokey. The ancho counters that with a raisin or plum like flavor. These two on their own can get a bit spicy, so I then use a chili powder blend from Penzeys, called Chili 3000. It is also made from ancho pepper, but is mixed with other spices mellow it out a bit. (https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/chili-3000/c-24/p-73/pd-s). Any blend will work though.
• San Marzano tomatoes are rich, sweet, and slightly acidic. Also, knowing that they come from this Italian region guarantees that they are high quality. Saying this, other canned tomatoes should do fine in your over the top chili.
• I strongly recommend using a digital internal meat thermometer. I like the TempSpike from ThermoPro (https://bit.ly/3Bhbf2A). It is less expensive than others and works very well. Plus, if you use that link, I get a small commission!
• Toasting the spices in a dry pan before using brings out the flavor, especially for spices that have been sitting in your spice rack for months before making the recipe.

Over the Top Chili

Recipe by David

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

3

hours 

Calories

334

kcal

Ingredients

• 
  2 TBS Chili Powder Blend

• 
  1 TBS Ancho Chili Powder

• 
  1 TBS Chipotle Chile Powder

• 
  2 TSP Coriander

• 
  1 TSP Oregano

• 
  1/2 TSP Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne Powder

• 
  1 TBS Salt

• 
  6 OZs Bacon

• 
  2 Yellow Onions, chopped

• 
  1 Red Bell Pepper

• 
  1 Head of Garlic, minced

• 
  2 LBS Ground Chuck

• 
  1- 28 ounce can tomato puree (San Marzano perferred)

• 
  1- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (San Marano perferred)

• 
  2- 15.5 ounces can Kidney Beans

• 
  2 cups Beef Broth

Directions

• Pre-heat smoker and aim for a low temperature of 225. If you are using a pellet smoker, you may want to go for a lower temperature to achieve the super smoke setting. On my RecTeq it is at 180.
• Toast spices and herbs in a dry frying pan, be careful not to burn them. Mix toasted spices with salt.
• Mix one TBS of spice mix with ground beef. Make one big meatball out of the ground beef mixture. Set aside.
• Cook bacon in dutch oven until crisp. Set aside.
• Remove half the bacon fat.
• Saute onions and red pepper in bacon fat.
• Saute onions and red pepper in bacon fat.
• Add tomatoes, chopped up bacon, and remaining spice mix.
• Put dutch oven on smoker with a grate over it. Place giant meatball on grate above the pot.
• Using a internal digital meat thermometer, smoke until 155 degrees internal temp.
• Remove from smoker.
• Break-up meatball finely and add to pot.
• Often the liquid evaporates while cooking. Here you add beef broth until you reach your desired thickness.
• Drain beans and add to pot.
• Serve with your favorite toppings. We like shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, fritos, and fresh cilantro.

Notes

• I use three chili powders. The chipotle is hot and smokey. The ancho counters that with a raisin or plum like flavor. These two on their own can get a bit spicy, so I then use a chili powder blend from Penzeys, called Chili 3000. It is also made from ancho pepper, but is mixed with other spices mellow it out a bit. (https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/chili-3000/c-24/p-73/pd-s). Any blend will work though.
• San Marzano tomatoes are rich, sweet, and slightly acidic. Also, knowning that they come from this regions guarantees that they are high quality. Saying this, other canned tomatoes should do fine.
• I strongly recommend using a digital internal meat thermometer. I like the TempSpike from ThermoPro (https://bit.ly/3Bhbf2A). It is less expensive than others and works very well. Plus, if you use that link, I get a small commission!
• Toasting the spices in a dry pan before using brings out the flavor, especially for spices that have been sitting in your spice rack for months.
• 10 servings: 334 Calories, 19g Protein, 25g Fat, 6g Carbs from recipecard.io