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Jill’s 3 Bean Chili (makes 8 quarts; make sure you have a big pot!)
1 pound (2 cups) dried black beans
1 pound (2 cups) dried small red beans
1 pound (2 cups) dried pinto beans
water
2 large (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes in puree
2 large yellow onions, diced
4 cups beef bouillon
Jill’s Chili Seasoning Mix (see article above)
2 pounds or so ground beef
1 bottle dark beer (optional)
salt to taste
Pre-boiling the beans for this chili eliminates the need for soaking them overnight. The black beans are boiled and drained multiple times both because they take longer to cook and to keep them from turning the other beans gray. Using dried beans rather than canned takes additional preparation time, but it’s pretty simple, and the results are both tastier and less apt to cause antisocial digestive side effects. Be sure to sort the beans, looking them over and removing any little stones or debris that might have found their way into the bag.
Put the black beans in a pot with 2 to 3 quarts of water. Boil beans about 10 minutes, then drain and refill pot with fresh water. Add the red beans, boil 10 minutes, drain, and refill pot with water. Add the pinto beans, boil 10 minutes, and allow the pot to sit with the lid on for 1 hour.
Drain the beans, and add the tomatoes, bouillon, onion, and seasoning mix to the pot. Simmer for several hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are done. Add water or more beef bouillon to thin chili as needed. Brown the ground beef, seasoning if desired with additional garlic or chili powder. Drain the fat and crumble the beef. Add meat and optional beer during last 30 minutes or so of simmering. Add salt to taste. Chili is even better the next day, and it freezes well.
Traditional chili accompaniments are shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped onion, and the hot sauce(s) of your choice. Cooked pasta and corn are also good chili additions. If the chili is too strongly seasoned for your taste, add a can or two of condensed tomato soup.
For vegetarians, here's my veggie chili recipe. Compliments of, if I recall correctly, the Durham, NC newspaper. Adding cinnamon will take it into new and interesting territory:
1/2 onion diced
olive oil
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chili beans
cumin
salt
pepper
garlic powder
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook til sweating and lightly browned.
Add tomatoes breaking them up into smaller pieces. Add the beans and seasoning to taste. Cook til just bubbling.
Serve over rice.
Serves about 4 (less if you're really hungry)
If you make up the chili seasoning mix from the recipe in my article, just add a portion of it to a smaller pot like that... remember my recipe will season a full 8 quart pot of chili!
