Once upon a yesterday, I lost a chili competition.
Well.. I came in second place but that’s still losing to me. ‘Twas the second cooking competition I had been in, at my job at Whole Foods when I was a young whippersnapper, and at this point in my career I had made my staple ingredient chocolate. Every cooking competition I was in I included chocolate in my recipe somehow, whether the recipe was sweet or savory. I know what you’re thinking “chocolate in chili??!?!” YES, and quite frankly this recipe is gonna get weirder than that. But I am a professional, please stop questioning me. This is my own personal recipe, I’ve been sitting on it for some years but I guess I don’t mind sharing it or whatever..
Shopping list :
5 pounds of ground beef, lean
12 slice of bacon
2 each poblano peppers
5 each Serrano peppers
1 each jalapeño
2 large yellow onions
1/8 cup fresh garlic
1/2 cup cumin
2.5 tsp coffee grounds
3/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup chipotle powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
7 chipotles (in adobo sauce) (puréed)
1 quart root beer
2 cans tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2.5 oz bittersweet chocolate
Salt and pepper to taste
Aite so boom!! The secret to a bomb ass chili is flavor layers... flayers perhaps?? Your tastebuds recognize five flavor profiles: salty, sweet, spicy, bitter, and umami (savory). Layering two or more of these flavor profiles creates depth, and that’s how you can trick people into thinking you actually know what you’re doing…