Chocolate Chili

My long-time chili recipe, full of spices and flavor and a touch of chocolate. Often served with mashed potatoes, an old Iowa farmwife technique to make meat go further when feeding hungry farmhands.

COMPLIMENTS!
"The chili was excellent!" ~ Megan
"Holy cow! Was that chili good!!!" ~ Sally
"... it was so good ..." ~ BabyAlan
"The spices and flavor were exquisite." ~ Laurie

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It took the longest time to find "my" perfect recipe for chili. I experimented with one recipe after another, finding many "good" chilis but not yet the right combination to claim as my own.

My first chili experiment was borrowed from a great cook from Texas. It called for – get this – two cups (cups!) of beef suet and one-half cup (cup!) of chili powder. Whew – greasy AND spicy and definitely NOT to my taste!

I even entered a chili contest once – I thought it was pretty good chili but the judges were unimpressed to learn my entry included a can of tomato soup!

And then finally, my search brought me to Chocolate Chili, the source, sadly is long lost. Chocolate Chili is a must when the yen for “real” chili hits, when the weather turns brisk, when the snow piles high, when somehow, nothing, nothing at all, will do for Sunday supper. If you're like me, you'll be charmed by the spice-chocolate combination – it softens and deepens the warmth from the chili powder and Tabasco. While many chilis are somewhat sweet, Chocolate Chili recipe falls into the not-sweet camp even with slightly "sweet" spices.

ALANNA's TIPS Chocolate Chili is good straight off the stove (or out of the oven) but like many chili recipes, always seems to improve after a day. Even making it in the morning for serving at night makes a difference. Try not to break up the ground beef too small while it's cooking, big clumps are better than fine particles. In fact, we've started asking our butcher to separately package some "chili meat" (a rougher grind) along with the regular "ground beef" (the usual grind). One comes in one-pound rolls, the other in two-pound rolls, easy to tell apart! Ground elk works just as well as ground beef in Chocolate Chili. Go ahead, add beans if you like! Yum! This chili tastes great with Mashed Potatoes & Carrots! And regular mashed potatoes! And mac 'n' cheese! This column was first published in print in 2002 and first published online in 2008.

CHOCOLATE CHILI

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 2 hours
Makes 12 cups

• 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1-1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 4 cups water (or less for a thicker chili)
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1 – 3 tablespoons chili powder (start with 1 tablespoon, add to taste)
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Cook ground beef and onion until meat is cooked. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and water. In a bowl, mix the vinegar, Tabasco, spices, salt and cocoa powder; stir into the chili. Cover and bring to a boil.

FINISH ON THE STOVETOP Simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

FINISH IN THE OVEN Let cook for 2 hours in a 250F/120C oven.

Serve with oyster crackers or "Alanna-style" with a baked potato, mashed potatoes or mac 'n' cheese.

"SPICE FORWARD" CHOCOLATE CHILI Since 2013, I've played with this recipe, one of my oldest. To my taste, this chili keeps getting better and better! Here are the changes I make now:
Stew meat instead of ground meat, browned really well in an iron skillet, really caramelizing the meat.
Use double the tomatoes but half the water.
Leave out the chili powder (I know, heresy!) but double the vinegar and spices. Do NOT double the Tabasco.
Increase the cocoa powder to a full tablespoon.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 111 Calories; 4g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 7g Carb; 2g Fiber; 633mg Sodium; 51mg Cholesterol; 13g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 2 & WW PointsPlus 3 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 7/8 cup (12g protein).

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite family chili recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!

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Take Off the Cold-Weather Chill with Chili

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)

~ Chillin: Favorite Chili, Chowder & Cornbread Recipes ~
~ more chili recipes ~

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