Chef Gina Veneziano Makes Award-Winning Chili

It’s the end of summer, and everyone is squeezing out their last vacations (including our staff!). So we looked into the archives searching for one of our favorite recipes to share with you in these dog days of summer.

Jump to recipe

And, with only a few weeks left of warm weather, many people are gearing up for the fall and the impending chill in the air – don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with a flavorful bowl of chili. Enjoy!

Chili

Prep Time: 60 min

Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients

3 LBS. SPICY ITALIAN SAUSAGE, NO CASING
3 LBS. GROUND BEEF
2 YELLOW ONIONS, DICED
10 GARLIC CLOVES, MINCED
2 (7OZ.) CANS CHOPPED GREEN CHILIS *OR SEE NOTE BELOW
1 TPS. SALT
1 TPS. PEPPER
6 OZ. TOMATO PASTE
1 CUP RED WINE
2 (28OZ) CANS, SAN MARZANO, PEELED TOMATOES
¼ CUP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1 TBS CHILI POWDER
1 TBS OREGANO
2 (16OZ) CANS RED BEANS, DRAINED

Directions

Over medium-high heat, cook sausage and ground beef in a large, deep, heavy pot until evenly browned. Remove meat from the pot and set aside.
Leave 3-4 TBS meat drippings in pot; discard the rest. Add diced onions, sauté until translucent about 5 mins, add garlic and chilis, and continue to sauté until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and wine, using wine to deglaze, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pot
Stir in cooked meat, peeled tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce. Break up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, as everything is getting stirred together. Fold in beans
Season with chili pepper and oregano. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer, cover, and let simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with cornbread.

Notes

I used about 10 peppers from my garden – a mixture of jalapenos, sweet heats, and bell. If going this route, you may want to cut off the tip of each pepper and try to taste test how spicy they are so you can control the amount of heat you’re adding to chili. You may want to add more or fewer chili peppers, and it’s hard to be exact, especially with homegrown chilis differing vastly in heat levels.
A large Dutch oven is a perfect pot to make this in
If short on time, you do not have to simmer for 3 hours. The mixture is cooked, but the longer you can let the flavors simmer together, the better. I often make it the night before, and after it’s brought to a boil, I turn it off completely and refrigerate for the night, simmering the next morning for a few hours before serving.
This is hearty enough to be served on its own as a main dish. It’s also great over pasta or rice or with corn chips or cornbread. I always add shredded cheese and sour cream because, why not, but it’s not necessary. I served this particular batch with pumpkin-shaped cornbread, which I believe is what took me over the top to get the “win” for the chili cook-off.
If you want to make a smaller portion, you would cut most of the ingredient quantities in half (for half the yield, i.e., 8 servings). However, you don’t need to cut down the amount of onion, chilis, salt, pepper, or tomato paste as these are about layering flavor and quantities do not need to be an exact ratio – another reason to love soup (or in this case chili), use what you’ve got!