Chili Week: Dragons Breath Chili

There has to be like 10 billion chili recipes out there. So naturally I was quite overwhelmed when I began my search for the best chili recipe I could find. After skimming through what seemed like hundreds of recipes I was discovered a recipe with an awesome name "Dragons Breath Chili". Sounded right up my alley. I love peppers and the spicier the better. I could not have picked a better chili recipe as this is the best I have ever had (aside from the white chili).

When I was making this I accidentally added maybe triple the beer that the recipe calls for and of course Shawn's response was something like "how can that be bad?"...and it wasn't...in fact it was quite awesome. But I can almost guarantee that if I added the correct amount of beer it would have been 100 times better. I cant really imagine it getting much better but I've got a hunch. We served this over homemade low-fat cornbread.

Dragons Breath Chili
Adapted from Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 red bell peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
2 jalapenos, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
2 yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
1 head garlic, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 pound boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 pounds lean ground beef, coarse grind
1 pound turkey sausage
2 teaspoons granulated onion
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
12 ounces lager beer
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken stock
2 (15.5-ounce) cans reduced-sodium pinto beans, with juice
2 (15.5-ounce) cans reduced-sodium kidney beans, with juice
Saltine crackers, for garnish (whole wheat)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar

Directions:

In large stock pot over high heat, add butter and bacon grease. Add bell pepper, jalapeno, chiles and onion and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add chuck and brown. Add ground beef and sausage to brown and stir gently, trying not to break up the ground beef too much. Cook until meat is nicely browned and cooked through, about 7 to10 minutes. Add in granulated onions, granulated garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add in tomato sauce and paste and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in beer and chicken stock. Add beans, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours.

Garnish with whole wheat saltine crackers, green onions and reduced-fat shredded Cheddar.