All-American Chili

SERVES 8 Ingredients • Sea salt and pepper to taste • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) coconut oil or Rendered Animal Fat • 2 onions, chopped fine • 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces • 6 garlic cloves, minced • ¼ cup chili powder • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground cumin • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) ground coriander • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) red pepper flakes • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried oregano • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper • 30 ounces ground beef • 2 pounds (907 g) ground turkey • 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes • 2 cups (480 ml) Chicken Broth or Stock Preparation 1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne to Dutch oven and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. 2. Add one pound of turkey and the ground beef to the Dutch oven, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in beans, diced tomatoes and their juices, crushed tomatoes, and broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chili has begun to thicken, about one hour. 3. Pat the remaining pound of turkey together into a ball, then pinch off teaspoon-sized pieces and stir into chili. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until turkey is tender and chili is slightly thickened, about 40 minutes longer. (If chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in ½ cup water.) Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

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All-American chili goes big: two meats, two tomato cans, and a spice load that means business. Ground beef and turkey simmer with kidney beans for a solid hour, then hand-pinched turkey pieces join for the last stretch. It feeds eight and tastes even better the next day.

Pro Tips

• Cook the onions, bell pepper, garlic and every spice together for 8-10 minutes before the meat goes in — the spices need that time in fat to bloom.
• Brown only the first pound of turkey with the beef; the second pound gets pinched into teaspoon-sized pieces and stirred in later for contrast.
• The pinched turkey pieces simmer about 40 minutes — they stay tender in little nuggets where the ground meat melts into the chili.
• Give the first simmer a full hour to thicken before adding the pinched turkey; rushing this stage leaves the chili thin.
• If the chili begins sticking to the bottom, stir in ½ cup water — the pot should stay saucy, not scorched.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why add turkey in two different ways?

It's a texture trick — the first pound browns into the base while the hand-pinched pieces stay as tender little meatballs. Two meats, three textures.

Why rinse the kidney beans?

Rinsing washes off the canning liquid, keeping the chili's flavor clean and letting the spices lead.

How spicy is this chili?

With a quarter cup of chili powder and cayenne in the mix, it has real warmth. Reduce the red pepper flakes and cayenne first if you want it milder.

Does it make good leftovers?

Excellent — the flavors deepen overnight. It also freezes perfectly in portions for fast dinners.

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