Regular Old Red Chili

My sister called me this morning asking me about "good old regular chili". She hadn't found much online and thought I might have something. Well, of course I did!

Drew’s “regular old red chili”

• Olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef (NOT super lean, you want fat… 80/20 or 85/15 is fine)
• 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed (I like Boulder Sausage or Canino’s… both local)
• Dried herbs… Mexican Oregano, Chili Powder, Ground Cumin, Cayenne (if you like more heat)... and whatever else sounds good to you.
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed or minced
• 2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen)
• 1 14 oz can of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14 oz can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-4 cups Vegetable or Chicken stock (to get the consistency you want)

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil in the pot and get it nice and hot over medium-high to high heat. Add the ground beef, add dried herbs and break up the ground beef. Now leave it alone so it caramelizes. Once that’s nice and brown, give it a good stir remove it from the pot and put it on a plate. Add some more olive oil and brown the sausage the same way, adding more dried herbs. After the sausage is brown, remove it. Turn the heat down to medium and add more olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for ~5-7 minutes or until the onions are softened.

At this point, you should have lots of “fond” (good dark stuff) on the bottom of your pot. That’s where all the flavor is!

Turn the heat back up to medium-high. Add all the meat back in. Add the tomatoes and stir, breaking up the fond. Add all the beans. Add the bay leaves. Add 2 cups of stock or more if you want a “soupier” chili.

Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium-low for a couple hours uncovered. The chili should reduce so you can add more stock if you want. Remove the bay leaves.

Serve and enjoy!