I’ll address the elephant in the room first: this chili has beans. To people in Texas, that is at best sacrilegious and at worst that means it’s not chili. Guess what: I don’t care.

I’m of the opinion that there are many different types of chili out there and none are considered “the real chili” or “the only chili”. Chili without beans? Great. White chicken chili? Awesome. Cincinnati-style chili? Definitely. The list goes on.

I’m willing to try all types of chili — and I have really enjoyed making various recipes found in The Chili Cookbook — but when it comes down to it, my go-to chili is my own recipe I’ve developed over the past decade.

It has won all three chili cookoffs it has been entered into, one of which had more than 25 entrants and another was on Capitol Hill, drawing rave reviews from congressmen and congresswomen alike.

It also allows for some flexibility to meet your tastes, or the tastes of those you will be serving it to. You can tailor it in three different ways:

  1. Beans – I typically use five different types of beans — black beans, light red kidney beans, dark red kidney beans, Navy beans, and lima beans — but you can use any type of beans you want. They add color, texture, and flavor so get creative!
  2. BBQ Sauce – Yes, part of the sauce base in this chili is barbecue sauce and you can use your favorite one, although if you’re going for the traditional dark red color of chili I suggest at least using a Kansas City style sauce as opposed to, say, a yellow mustard-bases sauce or Alabama style white sauce. For this batch, I used Veterans Q Original Sauce. Want more heat in your chili? Use a spicy barbecue sauce.
  3. Beer – This is another part of the sauce base and I suggest using a dark, full-bodied beer rather than something light. My go-to favorite is Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre, but anything like a porter, stout, or Christmas ale will do. For this specific batch, I used Revolution Coffee Eugene Porter.

However you choose to make it, I highly suggest cooking it “over the top” style, which means forming a giant ball of meat (along with the spices, peppers, and onions) and smoking that on a wire rack above your chili base. This allows the meat to get some smoke and the base to collect all of the drippings to create an incredibly flavorful chili.

If you don’t have a smoker, or simply don’t want to cook it that way, you can mix it all together on the stove top and it will still be great.

Over the top chili

The Recipe

Start by firing up your smoker to 300 degrees indirect using your choice of wood. I usually use pecan. If you’re not smoking it, scroll down for directions.

Pour all of the beans, corn, and Rotel into a large dutch oven and mix together. For the corn, if you can find a bag of frozen roasted sweet corn (such as Trader Joe’s) use that. Now, add a bottle of beer, a bottle of barbecue sauce, a small can of V8, 3 tablespoons of spicy mustard, and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Mix it all together and set aside while you get your meat ready.

Chili

In a separate bowl, mix together 2 pounds of ground beef with a diced onion, 2 diced peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, plus your dry ingredients (1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne powder, black pepper, and Kosher salt, plus 7 tablespoons of chili powder).

Use your clean hands to mix well and then form into a large ball, as evenly shaped as possible. Place it on a wire rack.

Chili

Once your smoker is up to temp, set the dutch oven in and place the wire rack with the meat on top of it. Let it smoke for about 3 hours until the meat reaches 160 degrees internal.

Carefully crumble the meat into the dutch oven and mix it all together. Add 3/4 cup of sugar and mix well to dissolve. Let it continue smoking for about 30 minutes to an hour until all the flavors meld together. Spoon into bowls and serve with shredded cheddar cheese. You can also add sour cream and cilantro.

If you do not want to smoke it, the process is similar, except instead of forming the meat into a ball, brown it on the stove along with the onions and peppers, then add the dry seasonings to it, mix well, and add it to the dutch oven. Stir it all together, and simmer on the stove for a couple of hours until hot.

Pasatiempo Barbecue’s Perfect Chili

Our three-time award-winning chili may not have many fans in Texas, but the results speak for themselves. Loaded with beans and meat with a sweet base and a slight kick of heat, our chili is always a fan-favorite.

  • 2 pounds Ground beef
  • 1 can Black beans
  • 1 can Light red kidney beans
  • 1 can Dark red kidney beans
  • 1 can Navy beans
  • 1 can Lima beans
  • 1 bag Frozen corn
  • 1 can Rotel
  • 1 small can V8
  • 1 bottle BBQ sauce
  • 1 bottle Dark beer
  • 3 TBSP Spicy mustard
  • 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Sweet onion
  • 1 Green pepper
  • 1 Red pepper
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tsp Garlic powder
  • 1 tsp Onion powder
  • 1 tsp Cayenne powder
  • 1 tsp Black pepper
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 7 TBSP Chili powder
  • ¾ cup Sugar
  • Cheddar cheese (for garnish)
  1. Fire up your smoker to 300 degrees using your choice of wood. I use mostly pecan.

  2. Dump all the beans, corn, and Rotel into your dutch oven and mix.

  3. Add 1 bottle of dark beer, 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, 1 small can of V8, 3 TBSP of spicy mustard, and 1 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce. Mix together.

  4. In a separate bowl, mix together your 2 pounds of ground beef, diced onion, diced peppers, minced garlic, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp Kosher salt, and 7 tablespoons of chili powder until well mixed.

  5. Form into a ball and set on a wire rack

  6. Place the dutch oven into your smoker and set the wire rack with ball of meat on top.

  7. Smoke for about 3 hours until meat reaches 160 degrees internal.

  8. Carefully crumble the meat into the dutch oven and mix well. Add ¾ cup of sugar and mix in to dissolve. Let go for another 30 minutes to an hour to let the flavors meld.

  9. Remove from smoker, spoon into bowls, and top with shredded cheddar cheese.