The Timeless One Pot Classic Beef Chili Recipe – make this recipe and master a tried and true favorite for the ages while feeding everyone for days!
There is that quick and easy meat, a quick sizzle and sear of a tender cut of choice rib eye that leaves it butter smooth and melt-in-your-mouth perfect. Then there is the long developed flavor of a tougher cut that has stewed long and lovingly with a mix of herb and spice.
They are both wonderful to enjoy when prepared well and yet, often, the tough cuts aren’t given the attention they need to produce that rich fork tender bite. We all need a little slow and low loving from time to time, right?
The best cut for beef chili
The time and slow cooking of a those big cut of beef is just what it needs to ensure that the meat is flavourful and breaks apart with the slight tug of a fork. Stewing, braising, or slow cooking gives the right temperature and time for the beef to break down the collagens so that these less expensive cuts can be savored and are fork tender when you bite into them.
I enjoy using a chuck roast in my kitchen, as a cut is often inexpensive and has a nice amount of fat for making ground beef or roasting.
For this Classic Beef Chili Recipe, I grabbed a 3-pound chuck, and got to work cutting it down into smaller pieces and removing any fat that would just be gross if chewed on and let the dried chilis lead the way for a savory meal worth the wait.
How Long to Cook Chili
Have you ever heard that soup is better the next day? I think the same goes for chili. Which pretty much means you’re going to let it sit and stew a while, and then reheat it slowly for that perfectly shredded meat.
Chili takes time, and can be cooked in a slow cooker (like my favorite big batch game day chili) or in a Dutch Oven, but the longer you give the flavors to mingle with one another, the more defined they become. Think of it less like a ‘what do we have that we can throw in a pot’ and more like working and reworking a Monet.
Chili should stew until the meat is fork tender, at least 2 to 3 hours in a Dutch Oven or 5 to 7 in a slow cooker.
Turn on the music, get back to basics, and let’s slow things down tonight.
Now for the Timeless One Pot Classic Beef Chili Recipe
Want more chili inspiration? Try some of my favorite recipes
- Weeknight Easy Beef Chili
- Slow Cooker Whole 30 Butternut Squash Chili
- White Chicken Chili
- Colorado Green Chili
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Classic Beef Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried pinto beans rinsed and picked over
- salt
- 6 dried ancho chilies stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1″ pieces
- 4 arbol chilies stemmed, seeded, and cut in half
- 3 tbsp cornmeal
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 onions diced
- 3 jalapenos stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 3 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp molasses
- 3 lbs chuck roast cut into large bite sized pieces
- 1 1/2 mild lager I used Fordham’s Gypsy Lager
- Sour cream lime, scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Dutch oven beans 3 tbs salt – broil to boil. remove from heat. stand 1 hour. drain rinse.
- Oven to lower middle. 300
- Roast the ancho peppers in a dry skillet over medium high heat, toasting for 4 to 6 minutes. Toss the chilies in a food processor. Add the arbol chilies, cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa and 1/2 teas salt to the food processor and pulse until everything is powdery. Slowly add in 1/2 cup chicken broth, scraping down the sides once or twice and pulsing again. Set paste aside.
- Mix the onions and the jalapeno.
- Heat 1 tbs oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook the onions and jalapenos, about 7 – 9 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, molasses and the chili mixture you previously set aside. Stir to mix well. Add the beans and the remaining chicken broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer.
- Heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and cook half in the skillet until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the beef to the Dutch oven. Deglaze the pan with half of the beer, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer and transfer liquid to pot. Repeat with the remaining meat and beer. Stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the Dutch oven and carefully transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until meat is fork tender. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool before ladling into bowls and topping with desired garnish.
Notes
Nutrition
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By “1 1/2 mild lager” do you mean 1 1/2 cups or 1 1/2 (12 oz) bottles? The recipe sounds delicious and I’m hoping to try it soon.
1 1/2 cups. Thanks for the catch! I’ll update the recipe soon 🙂
Thank you for replying so quickly. The chili turned out great! I did a half recipe and used stew lamb instead of beef. The flavor and spice of the chiles is just right, and the meat was very tender. I want to make it again soon, but the full amount so I can freeze some.
I also noticed the recipe calls for garlic, but it’s not listed in the ingredients, so I used 2 minced cloves.