Chili for a Big Bash

From: Chef #1130643

On Jan 19, 2009

Once again, this recipe is a cook off contest winner!!! A couple of friends and I entered a chili cookoff in Pensacola last weekend and took first place in the blind taste category. We didn't even design any presentation for the bowl of chili for the judges, just a bowl of chili!! Sixteen teams competed, one was the best, what a great recipe.

From: Don Lardo

On Nov 13, 2008

I work nights and one morning was looking for a quick slowcooker recipe to toss together before I hit the sack . This one stuck out. A few thoughts from a used to be slow food restaurant cook, who's rediscovered how fun it can be to cook at home in his 40's: It's not slow. There's a fair amount of dedication to a recipe like this. It's not difficult, I'm just trying to pass on what I experienced - maybe it had something to do with the dark beer. When Rita says "A very large pot" she's not joking. 8Q or better to make the full recipe. This is a monster recipe. It says 6Q, but my 6Q slow cooker was spewing when I finally got up - and in the rush to get it together and sleep, I left out the brown sugar, 1 can of diced tomatoes and a pound of ground chuck. When, yes when, I make this killer chili again, I'll whip it up in an 8Q stock pot on the stove top on a day off so I can keep the beast in line. Or, I'll halve the recipe and do it in the slow cooker. I'll leave out the brown sugar and add the other can of diced tomatoes. I'm a hearty eater and usually wish I'd made more so I could freeze some. Making the full recipe, we were able to bring some to work that day, share it with co-workers and freeze 5 Swedish Tupperware containers to boot. I started cooking this as my girlfriend headed off to work at 8am. She wasn't so sure I'd get anywhere close to edible food by the time she took a break at 4, but the finished reviews I got were immediate and impressive. Wow! Just what I was looking for - a hearty meat and bean chili with the right amount of heat (I'd say medium), leftovers to freeze and an incredible odor of chili in the house. Well done Rita, thanks!

From: LizP

On Jun 25, 2006

This was AMAZING chili. We used beef, not venison. We cut the recipe in half and it still made a TON. I combined everything in a big pot, brought it to a boil and put it in my crock pot and cooked it all day. I left out the broth/water because when you cook in a crock pot you are supposed to cut the liquid, since it generates so much on its own. I figured I could add the broth later if it was too thick and it was better to be safe than sorry and end up with watery, thin chili. It was the perfect consistency without the broth in the crock pot, though if I cooked it on the stove I would use it. When it gave a range of seasoning or peppers, I went straight down the middle and it made a nicely spicy, but not painful, chili. The beer, brown sugar and chipotles are an amazing combo....definitely a chili cook off contender! Thanks for the recipe!

From: Lydiamis

On Jul 5, 2004

This had the correct amount of heat. Starts out quiet then ends with a bang.