Turkey Chili

This is one of those dishes that freeze’s well, and you don’t have to tend to it while it cooks. This is not a slow cooker recipe. I find that the slow cooker leaves the chili watery and frankly very unappealing. There is a little front-end work – as in dicing the peppers and onions uniformly so that they cook evenly – but after that, it’s pretty much free sailing!

Here’s what you’ll need:
Heavy bottom dutch oven (5 quarts or more)

Ingredients
1 package of ground turkey (dark meat) – You can use any meat or none at all; that’s up to you!
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 each yellow, red, orange peppers or any color combination you want – diced
2 anaheim peppers – diced
1 large sweet onion – diced
2 cloves of garlic – smashed
1 can red kidney beans
1 can black beans –it’s your preference here – two cans of either kidney or two cans of black beans
1 large can of diced tomatoes – I use fire-roasted
2 bottles of beer – I use Corona, one for the chili and one for me…. of course!
2 teaspoons of ancho chili powder – adjust to your spice level
1 tablespoon teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of chili powder
½ to 1 teaspoon of cayenne – also adjust this depending on your spice level
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 bay leafs
2 teaspoons salt and pepper – more to taste

In your Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add your ground turkey and one teaspoon of salt and pepper and break it up with a spoon until it’s all broken apart and brown. Push the meat aside, add the spices and oregano and stir around until they are fragrant and now mix it all and then remove from the pot to a bowl.

Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan and now sauté the peppers and onions until they are translucent about ten minutes. When you are ready, add back the turkey (you don’t have to drain the turkey – you will want all that delicious stuff in the bowl to add back into the pot) and add the beans (the whole can and all it’s liquid) to the spices, the diced tomatoes and the one bottle of beer.

Give it a good stir and let it come up to a boil. Boil for about five minutes and turn the heat to medium-low and cover it. Let it cook covered for about thirty minutes.

Turn the heat to low, remove the lid and let it go, occasionally stirring for two hours or until all the liquid is gone and the chili is thick and dark in color.

When it’s done, turn off the heat and add half a bag of frozen corn (I use the fire-roasted corn that you can get at Trader Joe’s, but regular corn works fine), give it one more good stir, and put a lid on it. Let the chili sit for about ten minutes or up to an hour to serve. As in all my stews, everything tastes better the next day. To reheat, just put it on low and occasionally stir until it’s warmed through.

Chili can last for three months in the freezer!

As I said, the best way to make this chili is with whatever protein you want. You can use beef, pork, turkey, or no meat – this is a base for a good chili – what you do with it is all yours. As always, remember that drinking the beer is not vital to the recipe; it can never hurt – don’t you think?!!!

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Turkey Chili

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This is one of those dishes that freeze's well, and you don’t have to tend to it while it cooks. This is not a slow cooker recipe. I find that the slow cooker leaves the chili watery and frankly very unappealing. There is a little front-end work – as in dicing the peppers and onions uniformly so that they cook evenly - but after that, it’s pretty much free sailing! Here’s what you’ll need: Heavy bottom dutch oven (5 quarts or more)

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• 1 package of ground turkey (dark meat) – You can use any meat or none at all; that's up to you!
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 each yellow, red, orange peppers or any color combination you want - diced
• 2 anaheim peppers – diced
• 1 large sweet onion – diced
• 2 cloves of garlic - smashed
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 can black beans –it's your preference here – two cans of either kidney or two cans of black beans
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes – I use fire-roasted
• 2 bottles of beer – I use Corona, one for the chili and one for me…. of course!
• 2 teaspoons of ancho chili powder - adjust to your spice level
• 1 tablespoon teaspoon of cumin
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• ½ to 1 teaspoon of cayenne – also adjust this depending on your spice level
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 bay leafs
• 2 teaspoons salt and pepper – more to taste

Instructions

1

In your Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add your ground turkey and one teaspoon of salt and pepper and break it up with a spoon until it’s all broken apart and brown. Push the meat aside, add the spices and oregano and stir around until they are fragrant and now mix it all and then remove from the pot to a bowl.

2

Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan and now sauté the peppers and onions until they are translucent about ten minutes. When you are ready, add back the turkey (you don’t have to drain the turkey - you will want all that delicious stuff in the bowl to add back into the pot) and add the beans (the whole can and all its liquid) to the spices, the diced tomatoes and the one bottle of beer.

3

Give it a good stir and let it come up to a boil. Boil for about five minutes and turn the heat to medium-low and cover it. Let it cook covered for about thirty minutes.

4

Turn the heat to low, remove the lid and let it go, occasionally stirring for two hours or until all the liquid is gone and the chili is thick and dark in color.

5

When it’s done, turn off the heat and add half a bag of frozen corn (I use the fire-roasted corn that you can get at Trader Joe’s, but regular corn works fine), give it one more good stir, and put a lid on it. Let the chili sit for about ten minutes or up to an hour to serve. As in all my stews, everything tastes better the next day. To reheat, just put it on low and occasionally stir until it's warmed through.

6

Chili can last for three months in the freezer!

Notes

As I said, the best way to make this chili is with whatever protein you want. You can use beef, pork, turkey, or no meat - this is a base for a good chili - what you do with it is all yours. As always, remember that drinking the beer is not vital to the recipe; it can never hurt - don’t you think?!!!