Tailgate Recipe: Tailgate Chili

Our chef Scott Coward brings you a great cold-weather recipe this week – tailgate chili.

You will need:

1 pound ground beef
2 links Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
1 can (16 oz) red kidney beans, undrained
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 dark beer

For Garnish:

2 cups shredded cheddar
1 8 oz jar sliced jalapenos

The Night Before:

Being that it “feels” like football season outside now, I thought this chili recipe would help keep everyone all warm. Start out by removing the skin from the Italian sausage. In a large skillet, begin to brown the sausage and ground beef. Drain the meats once browned. Remove from skillet and place in a large pot.

In the skillet, brown the onion, pepper and mushrooms. Add garlic for the last two minutes. Transfer the mixture to the large pot. Add whole tomatoes and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Be sure to break the tomatoes up well. Stir in chili powder, oregano, parsley, and the hot sauce. Remove from the heat and refrigerate overnight after cooling.

Gameday:

Light the burner and sit the pot of goodness over the heat. Add the kidney beans in and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and begin to simmer the chili. Now add the tomato paste and the dark beer. I use Newcastle, but Guinness, and Becks dark are both great in this recipe as well. Simmer uncovered until the mixture reduces to desired thickness. If it stays uncovered for an extended period of time and thickens too much just add a little more beer to loosen things back up a bit.

Scoop into bowls and top with a few of the jalapeno slices and a sprinkle or two of cheddar. Now, if this doesn’t keep you warm at the tailgate, you don’t have a pulse!

Mmmmm... piping hot tailgate chili !!

Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Scott Coward