Chili Con Carne

I rarely make my own chili from scratch.  This might be considered shameful by some foodies, but frankly, I really just love the Carroll Shelby mix from the grocery store.  But I decided that I just had to try making chili with BACON because bacon makes everything better.  This wound up being kind of a kitchen sink dish and the end result was AWESOME because, you know, BACON.  Makes 4 servings at 648 calories and 26 grams of fat.

Ingredients:

  • 6 slices applewood smoked bacon
  • 2 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 2 cups black beans, rinsed
  • 14 oz. diced tomatoes
  • 2 tbs ancho chili powder
  • 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano (mexican if you can find it)
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2.5 cups beef broth
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup masa flour

Directions:

1. Cut your bacon into a cold skillet.

2. Cook until properly crispy and brown over medium heat.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon to some paper towels to drain and reserve your grease.

4. Add the ground beef and brown over medium high.  You want some good caramelization.

5. Drain and set aside.

6. Add a tablespoon of the grease back to the skillet and heat.

7. Add the onion, garlic, and chipotle pepper and cook for a couple of minutes, until onion is soft.

8. In a large dutch oven, add the cooked onion, pepper, garlic, beef, bacon, can of tomatoes, juice of lime, all the spices, the beef broth, sugar and beans (reserve the masa).

9. Bring to a simmer and cover,   Cook for 1 hour.

10. Mix the masa flour with enough water to make a sort of runny paste.

11. Remove the top, add the masa mixture and stir until well combined.

12. Simmer another 10-15 minutes, until thickened.

 Printable version.

3 thoughts on “Chili Con Carne

  1. I really like kitchen sink dishes and bacon. That’s the one protein I always keep aboard Fawkes. I found the bacon in the DR to be wonderful and low on sodium. What a treat.

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