There is nothing better than a big bowl of Homestyle Chili on a cool night topped off with your favorite toppings. Who am I kidding? I live in Florida where a cool night doesn’t happen often. That doesn’t stop me from enjoying a good tasting hearty meal any time of the year. When you want a bowl of something, you just go ahead and make just that!
There are so many variations of Chili that there is no right or wrong way to prepare it. You have different styles of Chili ranging from White Chicken Chili to a Beef laden one and any others in between. The important thing to remember is.. its your Chili and you make it the way you want to. If you are happy then so am I. Let’s sit and talk about my Homestyle Chili a bit.
Homestyle Chili is pretty much your basic Chili you may have had growing up. There are no fancy bells and whistles to this recipe. Just some simple good loving and a tweak here and there. Working in a restaurant in my younger years, I watched an Italian lady create a Chili using Tomato Juice as a base. No way did I think it could possibly taste good but to my surprise it actually was. Ok, maybe not as good as mine but I got the concept of how to go about creating mine from it.
Creating a great tasting Chili doesn’t have to take a lot of time. It is simply building flavors in layers to add its own flavor. From cooking the Peppers & Onions with the Ground Sirloin and infusing the Tomato Paste directly into to Beans and Meat, it all works together pretty easily. The addition of Cumin gives it a warm deep flavor that takes this Chili to a whole new level. Up your Tomato game and get you some fire roasted ones, something about that extra roasting pairs well with this recipe. My last and most importantly, letting you in on a little secret. The added Bacon Grease gives it a smokey flavor that makes this Homestyle Chili out of this world. If you have Bacon Grease on hand.. use it!!
Enough talking about this recipe, let’s get started on what will become your next favorite Chili recipe that will have you going for that second bowl in no time.
Homestyle Chili
Equipment
- Deep Pot with Lid
- Cutting Board
- Knife
Ingredients
Protein
- 1 lb Ground Sirloin
Produce
- 1 Large Green Pepper Diced
- Large Onion Diced
Canned Good
- 1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes Diced
- 6 oz Can of Tomato Paste
- 29 oz Can of Kidney Beans May use 2 15 oz cans if you cannot find a large one.
Drink
- 46 oz Bottle of Tomato Juice
Seasonings
- 1 tbsp Garlic Herb Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Seasoned Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Packets of Chili Seasoning Mix
Baking Spice
- 2 tbsp Sugar Optional
Other
- 2 tbsp Bacon Grease Optional
Instructions
Directions
- Begin browning Ground Sirloin in pot over medium high.
- Add Chopped Green Peppers & Onions and continue cooking with Ground Sirloin.
- Proceed to add all the seasonings including Chili Packets into pot stirring continuously to incorporate ingredients together.
- Once the Ground Sirloin is almost cooked through, add the can of Kidney Beans, Tomato Paste and Fire Roasted Tomatoes directly into pot and stir. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes to allow flavors to meld together.
- Gently pour the Tomato Juice directly into pot. You may or may not use all of the Tomato Juice. It will depend on how thick you like your Chili. Totally your preference.
- Stir to incorporate all ingredients. At this time, add Sugar and Bacon Grease (both are optional). The Sugar tones down the bitterness of the Tomato Juice and the Bacon Grease gives an additional smokey flavor.
- Lower cooking temperature to medium, cover with lid and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers, the better the flavor. Midway through cooking process, you may taste to see if additional seasonings are needed.
- Serve piping hot with your favorite toppings, a few crackers or a piece of crusty bread to soak up those great flavors. Enjoy!
