cookoff winning chili

How To Make cookoff winning chili

• 1

  First and foremost, you have to make this chili THE DAY BEFORE! Why? Because the flavors need time to develop overnight. The chili tastes totally different the day it's cooked to the next day. This chili has won 1st at a chili cook off in the past. I'm just sayin.....so trust me on this one. Plan it out in advance!
• 2

  So let's start with roasting the peppers. For beginners, here's how you roast a pepper. Rub the peppers with some olive oil, place them on a grill (you can do this in the oven under the broiler if you don't have a grill). Roast the peppers until the skin blackens and blisters, turning the pepper periodically so all sides are blackened. Then place them in a bowl and cover it so it steams. 15-20 min later, the peppers should be cool enough to handle and you should be able to remove the waxy skin easily. Remove the skin and seeds. Dice the remaining "meat" of the peppers and set aside. You can find youtube videos to help you do this if you're new to roasting peppers.
• 3

  In a large skillet, brown the bacon, veal, sausage, and sirloin. You may need to do these separately since your skillet probably isn't big enough to handle everything at once. Once everything is browned, drain the oils and dump the meat into your crock pot. If you don't have a large crockpot, you may want to skip the sirloin since this adds a lot of bulk to this chili. You can double up on the sausage or veal instead. Next add the roasted peppers along with ALL of the other ingredients. No really, just dump everything in!
• 4

  Note about the beer: I've used all kinds of beer in this recipe, everything from Kirin and Sapporo to Sam Adams and Fosters. Almost any beer will work as long as you like the taste of the beer. If you're like me and don't like the taste of beer (I know, I know), then use a beer with a lighter taste such as budlight or you can skip the beer altogether.
• 5

  Turn your crockpot on low and let it go! You should plan to cook this AT LEAST 6hrs. Then turn the pot off and put the pot in the fridge and let it sit overnight. The next day, reheat the chili for at least an hour. Taste it and see if you want to add more heat. If so, then this is the time to do it by adding more cayenne pepper or chipotle powder if you have it.
• 6

  Serve with cheese, green onions, sour cream, french fries or whatever you like! Cooking Tip: When handling hot peppers, sometimes the capsaicin can get caught underneath your fingernails, in your pores, small cuts in your hand, etc. So I use my diswashing gloves when I'm handling the peppers. This way I shield my skin from the capsaicin, I can handle the warm peppers easily, and when I'm done I can just wash the gloves with soap and water. This way I don't have to worry about rubbing my eyes later!
• Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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