I want to give a fair warning; this campfire Chili recipe is involved to say the least. Once you have chili this way, you won’t want to go back. Less is not always more. More meat, more spice, more flavor. I was looking for to create the best chili recipe that had immense flavor with the perfect balance between warm, winter comfort and spice. I kept adding chili “secret ingredients” and after adding about 5 so-called Chili secrets, I found harmony.
We made this beer chili in a cast iron Dutch oven hanging on a tripod over the campfire. Our goal was low and slow to really ramp up the flavor. Using a tripod was our best bet, making tending to the fire easy and keeping the chili at the perfect simmer.
One saying that resonates the most with my life is, “Work smarter, not harder.” I am sucker for finding convenient hacks to aid in making my life easier. We can find a place of synchrony where we pack on the flavor and make quality foods from scratch amidst our busy day-to-day lives. Unpopular opinion, leftovers are the bees’ knees. They often get a bad rep- but let’s make it intentional. From not only a convenience standpoint- but homing in from a financial aspect, if I am making an involved dish- is it that much more to make a large enough batch to save some for later? Not at all. Frankly, I find freezing some dishes amplifies the flavor. A prime example- chili. Chili is so simple to freeze. Using either a mason jar or a gallon sized freezer bag, fill 3/4 of the way full, making sure to leave room for expansion. If using the freezer bag, be sure to have the bag flat to freeze to save space.
Okay yous, lets make this dish.
Chili Ingredients:
- Onion (1)
- Bell peppers (2)
- Assortment of (3) 10oz cans of Rotel diced tomatoes (I used original, chipotle, and fire roasted)
- Kidney beans (2) 16oz cans
- Bush’s Chili beans (1) 16oz can
- V8 juice (2) 12 oz cans
- 1 Beer
- 1lb ground meat (I used equal parts venison, beef and chorizo)
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
Instructions:
- In a Dutch oven, add your ground meat. Season with salt, powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Cook ground meat until browned. Remove from Dutch oven.
- Dice peppers and onions. Add peppers and onions to skillet with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sautee until soft and browning.
- Add ground meat back into Dutch oven.
- Reduce heat and add in all other ingredients. For best results cook low and slow. Leave chili simmering for hours. Stir occasionally.
- If freezing extra, add to a mason jar or freezer bag, lying it flat to freeze. Be sure to leave room for expansion as it freezes.
Octoberfest Campfire Chili
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 2 bell peppers
- 30 oz Rotel canned diced tomatoes I used assortment of original, chipotle and fire roasted
- 2 16 oz cans kidney beans
- 1 can Bush's Chili beans
- 24 oz V8 juice
- 1 bottle beer of choice
- 1 lb ground meat I used beef, chorizo and venison
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 3 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, add your ground meat. Season with salt, powder, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Cook ground meat until browned. Remove from Dutch oven. Dice peppers and onions.
- Add peppers and onions to skillet with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sautee until soft and browning.
- Add ground meat back into Dutch oven. Reduce heat and add in all other ingredients. For best results cook low and slow. Leave chili simmering for 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally.
- If freezing extra, add to a mason jar or freezer bag, lying it flat to freeze. Be sure to leave room for expansion as it freezes.
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