Perhaps there really is no Shotgun Willie, but if there were, he would totally make chili like this.
chili always looks like crap in pictures
It took me forever to fire up the grill today, I am pretty convinced it is because of a new disorder that I am pretty sure I have, and also just invented. ADCD: attention deficit cleaning disorder. I started to clean up the aftermath of hurricane Derek in my basement and prior to finishing I moved on to the drawers in my kitchen, and once those were dumped out and all over the counter I started on the cabinets. At this point I have crap everywhere and start thinking “F*ck this, I am going to cook instead.” So I had to make some room on my counter to start a fourth project for the day.
That is one sexy piece of meat
You start with a roast instead of ground beef for this recipe, that is what makes it so incredible. Salt and pepper that baby and set it off to the side.
I also used all of this stuff:
- 1 bunch kale
- 2 sweet taters- chopped into bite sized pieces
- 2 banana peppers
- 2 serranos (I keep them in my freezer at all time just for this chili)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- onion, I used half, you can use a whole one, doesn’t really matter
- one bell pepper
- 1/2 cup beef bone broth
- a few cloves of garlic: smashed and roughly chopped
- A pack of chopped tomatoes, you can also use a can or jar of salsa if you like
You also need all of this:
- 1/4-1/2 cup chili powder. It is a great thickener.
- 2 TB oregano
- 2 TB paprika
- 2 TB cumin
- 1 TB coriander
- 1 TB onion
- salt and pepper
- 1 TB garlic powder(you can never have enough garlic)
- crushed red pepper to taste (optional)
Before you start your prep work soak your wood. I used mesquite here because of its bold intense flavor. This is definitely a wood made to be paired with beef, as it would be too intense on a more delicate piece of meat like fish. After you have everything you need and some nice wet wood, it is time to start-up those coals. I used a lot, in a high heat fire. A thin layer in the bottom of the grill with a heaping chimney of hot ones. The unlit ones in the bottom simply gives you a longer burn time.
In a grill friendly pan (I use enameled cast iron), throw in your roughly chopped garlic, tomatoes, bone broth, spices, and taters in your pan, then throw your serranos in whole. You will take these out at the end (if you’re smart) but they just infuse a nice flavor and the perfect amount of heat.
Once your wood chips start smoking, put your meat directly over the high-heat to give it a sear, and your pan on the indirect side. As a bonus I also put my peppers on there to get a nice little sear. I then put the meat into the pot and deeply scored it with a sharp knife. You can skip this step if you want to cook your chili all day, if not then cut several very deep gashes into your meat to increase the surface area and therefore the speed at which it is cooked.
Cook the chili with the pot uncovered(but the cover on the grill) for the first 30-45 minutes to let the smoke flavor penetrate. Once you chop all the rest of your veggies you can set those aside until you after that 30-45ish minutes is up. Give your pot a quick stir, add the veggies, and put the lid on your pot.
This one takes time, so tell all the furry little scavengers to wait their turn for beefy goodness
Anyways, you are going to let your chili cook for about an hour, only stop to stir once or twice. After an hour you might want to check the heat and add more coals, you want to keep the fire at about 350, and you can read a bit more about grill temps here, just in case you are a newbie. Now, just let your chili cook with the grill cover on. In the meantime, why don’t you go play fetch, go for a walk, or clean up that epic mess you made all over the house. Whatever you do, just leave your chili alone.
After a couple hours, your meat should be fork tender. I broke mine apart into bit sized chunks with a wooden spoon. If you have a huge roast or didn’t score your meat(like a dummy), you will have to add more coals and let it cook until the meat is fork tender.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve! I almost forgot… be sure to pull those serranos out!
This is the fabled Shotgun Willie!
The Primal Smoke 