Vrghr did a "Chili & Chips" luncheon for his office crew on Halloween. This is a more traditional "bowl of red" than Vrghr's Cincinnati Chili, but it includes several special twists you KNOW Vrghr had to toss in. *grin*

Turned out pretty tasty! A wee bit heavy on Cumin, but wuffy has adjusted the recipe below to account for that.

Vrghr's chili turns out a bit different every time, because wuff starts with raw and dried chilis and creates his own chili paste by reconstituting and toasting those after mincing everything thoroughly. Gives a very nice, substantial foundation of chili flavors, but they change depending on how the chili crops are doing and what kinds wuff can get his paws on.

Wuff adds to that base with various other goodies, which also tend to vary depending on Vrghr's whims of the day and what's in the fridge and larder. This one featured some nice dark chocolate, very strong coffee, a nice slab of beef shank to augment the ground beef, and a trial run of Better Than Bullion Chili Base and Smokey Chipotle Base. Gotta say those two were both quite welcome additions!

Wuff also irritated the Texans by adding a can of Chili Beans to this mix, but hey, you can't please everyone. And it was only 1 can, so there was minimal "adulteration" compared to the vast amount of meat and other goodies involved.

Vrghr made this a day in advance and let it rest overnight in the fridge before heating in the slow cooker the following day. Really brings the flavors together and develops a nice harmony. Wuff strongly recommends this method for best results, but this is still VERY tasty on the first day!

NOTE 1: Get to know your chili peppers and powders. There are so many fresh and dried chilis to choose from, all with different heat levels and tastes. Some are earthy and smoky, some fruity, some grassy and "green", and heat ranges from "none, really" to "WOW! HOT!" Most of these can be found in both fresh and dried version, though watch out - some of them change names after drying. And the dried versions can have significantly different flavor depending on how they were dried.

Most store-brand chili powders are mixtures of multiple spices with the chili, but you can source "single varietal" chili powders from specific regions (like Hatch) and peppers (like Ancho). This lets a cook create their own "signature" chili flavor, or experiment with different results. Play about with these as well and see what your "special" chili comes up with!

NOTE 2: Though there are a LOT of chilies involved in this pot, they're all of the fairly mild sort, so this assortment of chilies and spices creates a chili with just enough kick to tell you it's chili and not sloppy joes mix. This pleased wuffy's office friends, some of whom can't deal with the "5-alarm" style creations. You can kick this up by increasing the amount of Jalapeno and Cascavel peppers in the chili paste, or add some cayenne pepper or even a smoked chipotle pepper w/the canned adobo sauce. You can also sub in hot minced chilies for the can of medium ones. They'll all bring more heat. Or just offer this with some bottled hot sauce on the side.

This made about 5 quarts, so it'll feed a bunch of hungry furs (though you may be surprised; 2 office folks + Vrghr nearly finished half the pot!). You can also freeze up the leftovers for a quick reheat when desired.

With colder weather on the horizon, this is a great dish to warm the home and hearth with! ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz Thick Cut Bacon, chopped small
1 lb Ground Chuck
1 lb 85/15 Ground Beef
1 bone in Beef Shank (approx. 14 oz)

For the Chili Paste:
3 Anaheim Peppers
2 Jalapeno Peppers
2 Poblano Peppers
1 can (4 oz) Medium Diced Green Peppers
6 oz Dried Guajillo Chilies
1 oz Dried Cascavel Chilies
2 oz Dried Ancho Chilies
2 packets Tasters Choice Instant Coffee Singles + 2C Very Hot Water

The Spice Mix: (The first number is the "first portion". The +1 or 1/2 portions that follow are added during the reheating segment)
1 TBS Smoked Paprika
1 TBS Ancho Chili Powder
2 tsp + 1 tsp Fiesta Brand Extra Fancy Mexican Oregano
2 tsp + 1 tsp Fiesta Brand Extra Fancy Chili Powder
2 tsp + 1/2 tsp New Mexico Chili Powder
1 tsp + 1 tsp Granulated Garlic
2tsp + 1/4 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
1 TBS Brown Sugar (to taste)
1/2 tsp each seasoned salt (Lawry's) and ground black pepper

Fry up with the meat:
10 oz Frozen Chopped Green Peppers
10 oz Frozen Chopped Onions
1 small can(6 oz) Tomato Paste

Into the Crock Pot:
1 can (10 oz) Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes w/Green Chiles
1 can (14.5 oz) Great Value Chili Ready Diced Tomatoes
1 can (15oz) Great Value Mixed Chili Beans
3 oz Dark Chocolate Bar
1 TBS Better Than Bullion Chili Base
2 tsp Better Than Bullion Smoky Chipotle
1 tsp Better Than Bullion Roasted Garlic Base
2 tsp Better Than Bullion Roasted Beef Base + 2 C Hot Water
5-6 Bay Leaves
2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar

Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Diced fresh Onions, Crackers and Doritos offered as sides & Garnishes

DIRECTIONS:
Reconstitute the Dried Peppers:
Snip the stem ends off and slice the peppers open top to bottom with a pair of kitchen shears. Remove the seeds and dried membranes inside. Slice them up into roughly 1 inch pieces. Microwave a couple cups of water until VERY hot and stir in the 2 packets of instant coffee. Add the sliced peppers to the hot coffee solution and allow to set for 15-30 minutes to soften up fully and flavor the coffee

Make the Chili Paste:
Slice the tops off the raw peppers and cut them open, removing the seeds and membranes. Cut into chunks and add to a food processor. Add the softened dried pepper segments to the food processor and retain the pepper-flavored coffee for the chili pot. Process the peppers into a fine mince

Add the minced peppers to a large skillet, sprinkle lightly with salt and ground black pepper, and toast them over medium high heat until all signs of green pepper have vanished and the mixture is a toasty fragrant, reddish-brown paste. Remove taste your mixture to get an idea of the flavor and amount of heat before you begin adding this to the pot of chili later. Store the chili paste for later use

Fry up the meat and veggies:
Chop of 8 oz of thick-cut bacon finely. In a very large skillet over medium heat, render off the fat from the bacon and fry until just beginning to crisp but still rather tender. We don't want hard crunchy bits of bacon in our chili.

Remove the bacon leaving the fat behind and add it to the waiting slow cooker. Add the ground beef, ground chuck, and beef shank to the skillet. Fry things up until you have a nice crust on both sides of the shank, but haven't cooked it through, and you have good, browned color on the ground meat

Remove the shank and add it to the slow cooker. Add the frozen onions, peppers, and about half the can of tomato paste (3-4 oz) to the skillet. Continue cooking until the onions & peppers are tender and fragrant the tomato paste is a bit caramelized

Add 2-4 TBS of your chili paste mixture, depending on the heat and flavor you found when you tasted it (you can always add more to the pot when heating or reheating as the flavors evolve). Add about 1/2 of the "first portion" of the spice mixture and the Better Than Bullion Chipotle, Chili, and Garlic bases to the meat and mix everything together to flavor the meat and veggies. Allow to cook until the brown sugar and bases have completely incorporated

Time to Slow Cook:
Transfer all the flavored meat & veggies with all the drippings to the slow cooker. Add the remaining portions of the "first portion" spice mixture, the canned tomatoes and chili beans, the pepper-flavored coffee, rest of the tomato paste, the bay leaves, and the dark chocolate to the slow cooker. Mix the 2 tsp of Better Than Bullion Beef Base with 2 C of hot water until completely dissolved and add that to the cooker. Add 1 TBS of the Cider Vinegar (save the rest for after re-heating). Stir everything in

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more of your chili paste if you think it needs it

Refrigerate and Reheat:
Turn off heat and allow to cool, then put pot in the refrigerator over night

Next morning, return pot to cooker and cook on low for 2 hours until simmering nicely

Remove the shank and remove the bone. Cut up the meat and return it to the pot. Add the remaining "after reheating" spices and the remaining cider vinegar and stir in. After 2 hours, which chili is simmering, taste and adjust flavors as desired

Remove bay leaves, dish portions into waiting bowls. Offer with cheese, fresh diced onions, chips, crackers, hot sauce, etc.

!DEVOUR!