TheVarian said:
I've been wanting to try this, would you share your recipe/cooking times?
Sure thing!
I used AAC's recipe from the Food & Spirits board as my start, and made it my own. And I smoked it over the top, instead of cooking the meat first and deglazing the pan for the aromatics.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground venison
1 large yellow onion- diced
4 jalapenos- diced
1 head garlic minced
2 tbs tomato paste
1 large can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 large can of water
1 beer of choice ( I used Shiner)
3 each dried Ancho, New Mexico, and Guajillo Chiles
2 dried Chile de Arbol
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. ground coriander
1 tbsp. ground ancho/guajillo chile powder
1 tbsp. ground chipotle powder
1 tbsp. chile powder
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 oz super dark chocolate chips
Kosher salt (I used smoked salt), to taste
1. Cut the tops off the dried chiles and scrape out the seeds. I cut them up into smaller strips, then put them in a small pot on the stove, with just enough water to cover them. Bring this to a boil, turn the heat off, cover the pot, and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. After sitting, put the chilis and water into a blender to make your puree. Be prepared, this will smell amazing!
2. I took my previously decorated ground venison (or protein of choice), and season to taste. I used a BBQ rub that had some coffee in it. I think this gave a great flavor to the meat. Get the ground meat mixed up, and set aside for now.
3. Cook the aromatics (jalapeño, onion, garlic) in a large cast iron pot (big enough to hold all of your finished chili) on the stovetop. Put a tablespoon of oil in the pot, and add your jalapeño & onion, and cook for a few minutes. Then add your garlic and finish cooking them (5-7 mins total). Stir often so your garlic doesn't burn.
4. Begin adding the rest of your ingredients to the chili pot. I missed a step in my cook, but will for sure do it next time. Add in all the spices (except salt and pepper) & tomato paste. Allow them to toast for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Pour in the beer, and reduce by half.
Once the beer is reduced, add in your tomatos, tomatos sauce, and 1 can of water. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes to allow it all to come up to temp. If your chiles have been sitting in their pot of water, now is the time to puree them. I finished making the chile pure while this simmered.
5. When the puree is done, add it into the pot as well, and stir well to combine.
6. Form your ground meat into a giant hamburger patty that is slightly smaller than the top of your chili pot. Some people do a giant ball, but I like the increased surface area of a patty to get more smoke and crust.
You will need something to put the meat on so that it is suspended over the chili pot in your smoker. If your smoker has an upper rack where you can accomplish this, great! Alternatively, you could use a wire cookie cooling rack placed on top of your cast iron pot.
7. Add 2-3 oz of chocolate chips to the chili pot. It may sound weird, but his will smooth things out and give you a deeper flavor. I used super dark chocolate chips.
8. Place your pot on the smoker (which should be rolling at 225 by now), and put the meat patty on a rack over the pot. Smoke for 2-2.5 hours, you are looking for 160 internal temp on the meat.
9. Once the meat is fully cooked, remove the chili and meat from the smoker and crumble the meat into the chili. Give it a taste, and adjust the flavor by adding salt, pepper, garlic powder, or chili/cayene powder to taste. You can also adjust the consistency at the point by adding a little more water.
10. You can now simmer the pot of chili on the stove inside with a lid for several hours. Or, return it to the smoker uncovered if you wish, but I doubt the liquid will pick up much additional smoke flavor.
11. Top it with your favorite chili dressings and enjoy!