Josh’s Sweet and Spicy Chili
This is Eli’s brother, Josh. He’s currently serving with the Army in Afghanistan. He was born just 16 months before Eli, and they have that perfect sort of love-hate brother relationship. They are both adversaries and best friends. Together, they hunt and fish and ride dirt bikes and take their four-wheel-drive trucks off-road and get them stuck in the mud then pull each other out and play Xbox and go to gun shows and generally harass each other, but underneath it all is a lot of love and respect and camaraderie (they would probably both feel a little nauseous if they knew I was writing this somewhat mushy description of them).
Josh may very well be aghast when he realizes he has shown up on my food blog. It’s a bit beyond his uber masculine deer-hunter-dirt-bike-rider-off-roader-camo-sporting persona (Josh, don’t roll your eyes. I promise to make this up to you with a great dinner when you get home. Steak soup. It’ll be worth it).
Anyway, this man makes some damn fine chili, and I just couldn’t bear to deprive y’all of the recipe.
If you’re any kind of foodie, somewhere in your stash of recipes there’s a really good chili that is already your standby. You don’t need a replacement for it, so I know you’re wondering what’s going to make this chili post worthy of your archives. But notice the title: Sweet and Spicy Chili. The “sweet” is what makes this chili so stellar.
A year or so ago, Eli’s family had a chili party. Everyone brought a different chili. I brought turkey chili. Eli’s sister Heather made White Bean and Chicken Chili (one of my faves), and Josh brought this.
I admit that I was all prepared not to be impressed. And then I took a bite. I knew right away that there was brown sugar going on in there. The combination of sweetness and the bite of the chili spices lingered on my tongue in a way that made me want to keep eating. It was like the sweet and the spicy were chasing each other around my mouth, and my tongue couldn’t quite grab either one long enough to be satisfied, and so…another bite…and another…and another…and well, you get the picture.
I asked Josh for the recipe, and what he sent me was sort of a recipe – a list of ingredients (he even forgot to mention the meat – or maybe he figured I didn’t need a reminder about that), no instructions, and the note that seasonings are all “to taste.” That left a lot of room for interpretation, so I’ve done you all a favor and recreated Josh’s chili so that I could give you some quantities. Spices can and should be adjusted to your taste – add a bit of each, taste, add more, and repeat until the chili is as spicy as you can stand it. Be extra cautious with the crushed red pepper – it adds heat rather than flavor.
I don’t normally use canned mixes or pre-packaged ingredients, snobbishly believing I can do it better from scratch, but I wasn’t messing around with this (okay, but I confess I did add a green pepper). Thus, the Brooks’ Quick Chili Mix. Just do it. You won’t be sorry.
Here goes.
Josh’s Sweet and Spicy Chili
2 pounds ground beef or venison
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, diced
40 ounces Rotel mild tomatoes and green chiles
30 ounces Brooks’ or Bush’s Hot or Mild Chili Beans in chili sauce
30 ounces Brooks’ Quick Chili Mix or Bush’s Chili Starter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Up to 2 cups water
In a large skillet, preferably cast iron, brown the meat. Drain off the fat and set aside.
In a large soup pot, heat the oil. Saute the onion and green pepper over medium-high heat until tender, about 7 minutes, stirring often so that the onion doesn’t scorch.
Add the browned meat, tomatoes, beans, brown sugar, and spices. Give it all a good stir. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream if you like it that way (I do; Eli doesn’t), some grated sharp cheddar cheese, and Fritos or tortilla chips.
And while you eat, say a prayer for the safety of our guys serving over there in Afghanistan.
Yum…can’t wait to try this! But since my husband is the “other” brother, I will probably leave the green pepper out, lol.