2 lb very lean ground beef
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 whole, jarred pimiento, chopped
30 oz canned dark red kidney beans, drained
30 oz diced tomatoes in juice
3 tablespoons chili sauce (like Heinz)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Montreal seasoning
1 tablepoon yellow hot sauce (I used Miss Hatties)
2 teaspoons cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke
1 teaspoon dried celery flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon hot Mexican chili powder
1 teaspoon ground jalapeno
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1 teaspoon ground cumin
serving suggestions:
tortilla chips
sour cream
chopped onion
sharp cheddar
diced avocado
Directions:
In a skillet, lightly brown the ground beef. Drain off any excess fat. Place all ingredients (including the beef!) in the slow cooker and gently stir to distribute the spices. Place on low for 9-10 hours. Stir before serving.
Serves: about 6
My thoughts:
I think this is the best beef chili I have ever had. As I am sure you can tell by my recipes I really more of a pork person than a beef person but this was so good. I was amazed. Beef can really hold up to a long cooking time and becomes incredibly tender and tasty-perfect for chili. I wasn’t sure what time we’d be eating dinner so I wanted something really forgiving. This chili more than fit the bill. The longer it cooked, the better it smelled and tasted.
The spices are fairly traditional but the chili sauce and chopped pimiento add a bit of depth of flavor while adding some moisture to the chili without needing additional water, broth or fat. This particular chili has sort of a lightly sweet+smoky+hot and spicy thing going on that left me wanting more. I think I had two bowls the first night then another big bowl the next morning and I’ve already made it a second time. It was that good!
Note: I know it can be tempting to use a higher fat ground beef (people find it tastier, it is cheaper) but using a lower fat beef-90-94% fat free-is best for chili in the slow cooker. Even if you drain the fat off after draining, the meat still releases some additional fat as it cooks. If the fat content is too high, your chili will probably end up being pretty greasy. The lower fat beef has tons of flavor and you don’t get the oily chili issue.
Sounds so flavorful and delicious!I want a spoonful with all of the avocado, pretty please 🙂 Also, what is Montreal seasoning?
Montreal seasoning is a common spice blend that includes coarse salt, pepper and other spices. It is frequently used on steaks.
Thanks Rachel!
Montreal seasoning, you say? We may need to find this. Your chili just sounds like the spices burst all over your mouth.
I’ve been thinking of chili for the past few days now. This may be the world’s way of telling me that it’s time to eat some. 🙂
YUM, I love cornbread and prefer mine a little on the sweet side, that looks so moist!
Yum! So we made this Chili last night for the super bowl…. how AWESOME! Every bite was delish…. and what a versital chili. I’m gonna have some tonight “sloppy joe” style.
This has become the "go to" chili at our house, we have been making it since Rachel published the recipe.
Turns out great every time.
Thank you!
Regarding Montreal seasoning….we use penzey's Chicago steak for this, works out great.
I think the issue is savory with a bit of smoke.
Anyway, we make this recipe often and everyone loves it!