I had been thinking about making chili for quite a while, and after recently chatting with a friend about one he tried (and said was delicious) that was sweet, but also had a good amount of heat, I decided to start researching similar recipes. As you can probably imagine, there are a TON of different chili recipes on the net to choose from! So, after looking at a bunch, and narrowing it down, I decided to go with one that appealed to me the most (of course, with some of my own modifications). I was a little taken-back with the number of ingredients this recipe has, but decided to just go for it. And I’m glad I did, as this is possibly the best chili I’ve ever tasted.

To be noted, this recipe yields a lot of chili (it almost filled up my 6 quart crock pot), so unless you’re feeding a large family (serves 10-12) or plan to bring it to a party, I recommend dividing the recipe in half.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 16 oz. sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 12 oz. top sirloin, cubed into 1/4″ chunks
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped into 1/4″ dice
• 1 shallot, diced fine
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/4″
• 1 green bell pepper, diced 1/4″
• 1 cup tomato paste (I like Hunts)
• 1/2 tsp. fine-ground instant espresso
• 1 15 1/4 oz. can pineapple bits/chunks, chopped
• 1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 3 15 oz. cans kidney beans
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 28 oz. can peeled plum tomatoes, chopped (drained, but reserve juice)
• 12 oz. dark beer (I recommend Guinness)
• 3 jalapeños peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions in the vegetable oil. (This step is optional, but I prefer the onions softer by this process).
2. Add the sausage to the pan, and brown. You may need to do this in batches.
3. Remove the browned sausage and set aside.
4. Add the steak to the pan and sear on both sides.
5. Chop/dice all of the vegetables, and add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, including the meat.
6. Set the crock pot on low and cook for approximately 6 hours.
7. Serve and garnish with cheese, sour cream (or substitute plain or honey Greek yogurt)  or your favorite topping.

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