This was the winner of last weekend's Raven/White Chili cook-off. The recipe came from CookingForEngineers.com, but their instructions aren't consistent between the recipe and accompanying article. I always like to get my "mise en place" on, so that's incorporated into my instructions and I think it's much easier to prepare my way. You could do steps 1 through 4 early in the day and store them all in the fridge until you're ready to cook, which would reduce the total time it takes at supper time to about half-an-hour. All you need for hardware is a few bowls, a measuring cup, a wooden spoon and a good sized pot (I use a 6 quart stainless steel stock pot).
Buffalo Chicken Chili
1 roto chicken
1 lb ground chicken
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
salt & pepper
3 celery ribs
2 carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 onion
5 garlic cloves
2 Tbs. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 12oz beer
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1. Veggie Bowl: chop up the celery ribs, carrots, red bell pepper and onion into a fine dice and put them all in a bowl together. Toss the 3 tablespoons of butter on top.
2. Spice Bowl: combine the chili powder, cumin, coriander in a small bowl. Mince the 5 garlic cloves into the same bowl. Pour in a tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Chicken Bowl: pull all the meat off of the roto chicken and render it into small chunks using whatever method you prefer: tear it with your fingers, shred it with forks or cut it up with a knife.
4. Tomato Bowl: in a bowl (or big measuring cup), dump in the half-cup of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to your pot and heat it over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the ground chicken and cook it until it browns. Season with some salt and pepper. The more brown that sticks to the bottom of the pan, the better. Dump the cooked ground chicken into the Chicken Bowl with your roto chicken meat.
6. Dump the Veggie Bowl into the now-empty pot and stir it around as the butter melts. Stir every couple of minutes for 10 to 15 minutes. The veggies should get soft and the onions should start to brown.
7. Push the veggies to the sides and make a hole in the middle of the pan. Dump in the contents of your Spice Bowl into the middle of the pan and stir them around for 30 seconds or so to let their flavors bloom in the oil.
8. Dump the Chicken bowl into the pot and stir it around really well to coat everything evenly with the spices. The bottom of the pan should be very brown. Dump in the beer and scrape the bottom to get all of that flavor off the pot and into your food.
9. Dump in the Tomato Bowl and give it a stir. Simmer for 5 minutes (or longer, if you want it thicker).
Comments