Hungry Man Beer Chili

I've always said, "the most important ingredient in a chili recipe is an open mind", the secret ingredient here is the addition of sauerkraut.  This is a perfect recipe for a Super Bowl Party!  Served along with Jackie's famous jalepeno cornbread, and chili spiced butter spread, you can be the winner that day.  Who cares who wins the game, it's all about the eats.  The following is the chili recipe:

¼ CUP VEGETABLE OIL

3 LBS. LEAN PORK, CUT IN ½” CUBES

2 CUPS COARSELY CHOPPED ONION

2 TSP. CRUSHED GARLIC (ABOUT 6-8 CLOVES)

¼ TSP. PEPPER

2 TSP. SALT

2 T. CHILI POWDER

1 TSP. OREGANO LEAVES

1 TSP. GROUND CUMIN

1 TSP. RED PEPPER FLAKES

2 BEEF BOULLION CUBES

1 6 OZ. CAN TOMATO PASTE

1 QUART BEER (or more if needed)

1 20 OZ. CAN RED KIDNEY BEANS, DRAINED

4 CUPS DRAINED SAUER KRAUT, rough chopped

Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven until hot. Brown one third of pork at a time in the hot oil and set aside. Saute onion and garlic in same pot, just until golden. Add seasonings, boullion cubes, tomato paste and beer and return pork cubes along with sauerkraut to pot. Stir until mixed and simmer until well blended, about 30-45 minutes. Add beans and simmer a while longer.

Jackie’s Savory Cornbread Recipe with Chili spiced butter

Cornbread Recipe                                                  Chili Spiced butter

2 C. Buttermilk at room temperature                                   1 Stick of butter softened

1 ¼ C. of yellow cornmeal                                            couple dashes cayenne pepper, paprika

½ C. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour                                      1 T. of chili paste (to make your own take 4

1 Extra large egg                                                                T. of dry red peppers, 2 T. of Sriracha sauce               

½ C. Sour Cream                                                                 1 garlic clove & 1 tsp. ginger sautéed,

4 oz. of butter melted                                                       3 tsp. of grapeseed oil, grind until mixed)

1 T. Sugar                                                                             Couple pinches of each Cumin,Chili Powder                                                                      

1 tsp. Baking powder                                                         Mix all of the above together.  Keep at

1 tsp. Baking Soda                                                              room temperature until ready to serve

½ tsp. celery salt                                                                 with hot cornbread. 

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼ C. of diced sweet red peppers

1 garlic clove minced

2 T. chopped Cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced

 Couple dashes of Maggi seasoning

4 tsp. vegetable oil (to season skillet)

Firstly, you will need to pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. 

In a small skillet add a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the red peppers, garlic and the jalapeno pepper for a couple minutes on medium high heat, at the end of that time add the chopped Cilantro and Maggi seasoning and cook through about 30 seconds.  Remove from skillet and set aside until cool. 

Then add about 4 tsp. of vegetable oil to a cast iron skillet and spread around.  Put into the oven for 10 minutes and get it good and hot.  While this is getting hot, prepare your batter.

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together, cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, celery salt & cayenne pepper, set aside.  Reduce oven temp to 400 degrees.

In another bowl add the buttermilk, large egg, sour cream and melted butter, whisk this all together.  Add it to your dry ingredients along with the sauté vegetables and just mix until incorporated (do not overmix) Add batter to the very hot skillet.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes until done.

Serves 6-8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSjWbx4aM2g

To see the video visit this YouTube address above:

Chicken on the Run's award winning chili

Chicken on the Run, located in the real "Downtown" Deer Park, Ohio is home to one of the finest bar room chili available anywhere.  The recipe is a very loose interpretation of a formal World Champion chili recipe.  The original recipe featured cubed meat which had to be cooked down for 4 plus hours, way too much time and labor for a daily made menu item.  I adapted that recipe to the following version and entered it in the 75th. City of Deer Park Celebration Cook-off and was fortunate to receive first place.  Popular demand insisted we begin serving this at the tavern.  Below is a copy of the recipe prepared for use at the restaurant.  It appeared in a cookbook published as a fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis in 1990.  The cookbook included hundreds of recipes from Chicken on the Run staff and customers.  We were proud to say it was a sell out!  If you have one of thesse cookbook's hold on to it!  This recipe makes approx. 5 gallons of chili.  Below that is the recipe reduced to a nice family size pot.

Chicken on the Run Award Winning Chili

2 - lbs ground beef
1 - 46 oz. can of tomato juice
1 - 28 oz. can of tomato sauce
1/4 c. - chili powder
1 medium to large - onion coarsley chopped
3/4 c.- elery coarsely chopped
2 tsp. - salt
1 tsp. - cumin, dry mustard,, granulated garlic and oregano
1/2 tsp. - curry powder & garlic salt
1/4 tsp. - cayenne pepper (more if you like it hotter)
1 - 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes
2 - 15 oz. cans beans (Kidney, Red or Pinto Beans)

In a large iron skillet, brown beef, drain and place in large heavy pot.  Add all ingredients except beans, stir as you add.  Cook at a simmer for about an hour stirring often.  Add beans and warm through.  Eat hearty!

Watch for our upcoming YouTube video featuring this recipe.  Would love to hear comments good or bad on my premier video.  Til next bog.......................................

Here is the video.

Origins of Chili

Texas lays claim as a "Birthplace of Chili". Many of the first "chili" recipes were actualy stews made by the chuck wagon cooks along a cattle drive or wagon train. Dried meat cubes or strips (usually beef) were added to pots of spices and peppers. Often seeds were planted and these ingredients were grown along the trail at regular stopping points. When fresh game, venison, antelope rabbit, etc was available it was subbstituted for the dried meats and I'm sure was welcomed. Chili stew and beans were a staple of this hard outdoor life due to the fact it could be prepared in camp using few fresh ingredients.

Fortunately today we can just go to the grocery and pick out a vast array of items to make our chili thousands of different ways.

Sharing the Love

I envision upcoming videos featuring all aspects of chili cooking, lore, recipes, accompaniments, pairings and beverages.  Please feel free to email and share your interests and recipes.  We hope to publish a new post every week on Friday. 

A Little About Myself

As one approaches retirement, one thinks they will have all the time in the world.  Not so!  I seem to be busier than ever but have wanted to create this blog and videos for awhile and no time like the present.  

I am a life long Cincinnati, Ohio area native with a very normal childhood and youth centering on sports and the usual teenage baggage.  I've been married to my high school sweetheart Jackie for 43 years and live in the small town of Lebanon, OH approximately 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati.  My brother Ross and I purchased a neighborhood tavern, Chicken on the Run, in Deer Park, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati in 1983.  Being owners we were involved in all aspects of the business.  This of course involved lots of cooking and Ross and I bragged we were the best "grill boys" in the city.  Learning how to cook in a commercial enviornment made me much more efficient and while I already considered myself a chili afficienado having won a small local chili cook-off.  After owning the bar for a few years, Deer Park had a 75th. Anniversary celebration with a chili cook-off.  I entered and won!  My recipe became the house chili at Chicken on the Run and remains so even though we are no longer involved in the business.

It’s Chili Time

I have had a 40 year love affair with Chili.  In this blog I wish to share my experiences, knowledge and passion for this truly American pastime.  Chili is not just a cold weather dish.  It is for anytime, family get togethers, holidays, sports gatherings and cook-off's!  I hope to dispel the belief that there is only ONE chili and that yours or mine is the best!  There are literally thousands of varieties from mild to hot, sweet to savory, beans or no beans or meaty to vegetarian.  Hopefully we can share many ideas and eat a lot of good chili along the way.

"Get Chili, Get Beer.

Eat Chili, Drink Beer."

                            --Dave Barry