Gluten Free Home Brewing Blog

A brief story about this recipe. We entered a chili cook-off and my wife made many versions of various chili recipes for a couple months before the event. The night before the cook-off, she became ill and was unable to attend the event. Armed with the recipe my wife wrote, the ingredients and all my cooking supplies; I went to the event myself having never made any chili recipe, let alone my wife's chili recipe. She developed such a great recipe she won 2nd Place even though she was at home sick in bed!

Thank you Stars & Dreams Gluten Free Paradise for hosting the event which was a fundraiser for the Camelot Theatre Company!

American Amber Ale & Chocolate Chili

1 lb ground sirloin

1 lb ground turkey

3 cup or 2 onions- chopped

3 bell peppers, one each color- chopped

6 cloves garlic- chopped

12 oz GF American Amber Ale beer

2- 15 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes w/adobo seasoning

2 ancho chilies *see below

1 can tomato paste

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin

1 tbl ancho chili powder

1 tbl chili powder

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

3 cups chicken broth

1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

*Ancho chilies are dried Mexican poblano chilies. Rehydrate ancho chilies by soaking in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove the stem and seeds. Scrape the inside of the chili with knife, removing the inside of the chili from the skin. Set aside.

Brown both the ground sirloin and turkey meats. Remove from pan and set aside, keeping the oil in the pan. Add chopped onions and bell peppers and sauté until soft. Add chopped garlic and sauté until the veggies begin to brown. Add beer to deglaze the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get off any stuck pieces. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the diced tomatoes, ancho chili paste, tomato paste and remaining seasonings except the chocolate. Add in enough broth to get desired consistency. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in chocolate. Stir until melted. Cover pan.

To get the best results, simmer chili for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Cheers!