Friday, January 9, 2009

Chili, how can I make thee.....

.....let me count the ways.


Ok, seriously, how many ways can I futz with chili? I dunno, I feel like haven't even scratched the surface yet. I love just throwing stuff into a pot and seeing how it turns out. And apparently chili is my medium. This particular recipe is reminiscent of a diner chili, which happens to be my favorite style. I don't care for chunky veggies. I want a sweet tomato base, beans and meat. Simple, straighforward deliciousness!

I will say, all modesty aside, that I think this is my favorite one thus far in my home cooking career. Not as spicy as my other chilis, it's a nice balance between sweet (tomatoes/ketchup), sour(lea & perrins chicken marinade/beer), salty and spicy. Some of you might turn your nose up at the ketchup, but I saw someone use it recently on food network's Triple D (one of my fav shows currently!) and I thought I'd give it a shot. In my opinion, I think it works!


Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Chili

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1 T. Lea & Perrins "White" Worcestershire/Chicken Marinade
1 large onion, chopped fine (I pulverize mine in the food processor)
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 bottle Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Pinch of dried Oregano
Chili powder
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Red Chili Flake
4 regular cans beans of your choice
Salt
Pepper
3-4 frozen/fresh chicken breasts
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, rub chicken down with olive oil and season with pinch of oregano, chili powder (be generous), 1 tspn cumin, salt and pepper. Roast anywhere from 35 minutes (fresh) to 45 minutes (frozen). Place in bottom of crockpot. Pour in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, ketchup, lea & perrins chicken marinade and beans.

On stovetop, sweat onions and garlic over medium heat until translucent (approx 5 minutes). Adding palmful of chili powder, 1 tspn cumin, salt and pepper while onions cook. Pour in beer and reduce by half. Pour into crockpot with rest of ingredients.

Cook on low all day, or cook on high for a few hours. Shred chicken a few hours in when tender.

Serve with your favorite sides! Preferably a nice beer bread or jalepeno corn bread~!

3 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Mmmm - beer in chili! What a great ingredient to add more flavor!

Carrie said...

I LOVE your blog!!!! I stumbled upon it ramdomly looking for a brownie recipe...I'm so glad I did - this is awesome!

That Girl said...

I feel the same way about chili. I have more favorite chilis than any other food!