Sauté…
2 cups chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
6 cloves minced garlic (2 tbsp)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
…in Dutch oven over medium heat with a bit of oil until thick, brown and onions are caramelizing. 10 min. Add a little water if it starts to scorch.
Turn up to medium high and add 2 pounds of 85% lean ground beef in two batches. Cook until no longer pink. Add 2 (15-ounce) cans rinsed red kidney beans, 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice and 1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree.
Cover and simmer on low for 1 hour, stirring as necessary. Uncover and cook for 1 more hour, stirring as necessary, until chili has thickened.
Notes: I didn’t have coriander, I forgot the garlic entirely and I used black beans. Also, I bet you could omit the cayenne and mince a fresh jalapeño pepper instead. Tasted great. Highly seasoned. Probably a bit spicy for kids.
More notes. I made it a second time. I used dark red kidney beans instead of black. I omitted the red pepper flakes and the cayenne–but diced up a whole jalapeño. I remembered the garlic, still had no coriander. I also omitted any salt until after everything had cooked for an hour. Then added about 1.5 teaspoon Kosher. Had only one can of diced tomatoes on hand, so I ran out and got another one plus the can of sauce I didn’t have. Returned home with a can of “Italian seasoned” diced tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. (Mind elsewhere!) I added half the paste and half water. Figured it would be ok. Also, I drained the meat better.
Result? Less spicy, less salty. And somehow…less good. Since 1/3 teaspoon cayenne is about equivalent in heat to 1 jalapeno pepper, I think I may swap those but still use the red pepper flakes. Also: black beans. They’re just so good.
I made it a third time. I cooked the beef separately and drained quite a bit of the fat out. I reduced the cayenne and the red pepper flakes by half and put in a minced the jalapeño pepper with the onion/spice mixture. I remembered coriander but forgot the good Mexican oregano I have. Included the black beans again because I like them so much.
Moderately spicy. Not as highly seasoned because I used McCormick chili powder instead of the stuff I’d got at Penzeys. (If using Penzeys, use less than 1/4 cup.)
Served with shredded Monterey jack, diced onion, sour cream and corn chips.
Salted it during the thickening stage with about 1 Tbsp Kosher.
Thinking about using a chipotle and some bacon next time.