Beef and Black Bean Chili

Beef and Black Bean Chili

8 ounces dried black beans

2 pounds ground beef

2 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 white onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

2 15-ounces cans diced tomato

3 tablespoons cumin

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

12 ounces Guinness beer

Cilantro

Red onion

Cheddar

Sour cream

The beans were always my least favorite part of chili, but I used them because I felt they belonged.  Then I discovered dry beans.  I don’t remember why I had them, but I looked up how to cook them.  They were the first beans I ever really enjoyed.  The texture was terrific.  I have cooked my own ever since that day.  After eating black bean chili, I found that I liked the black beans much more than kidney beans, and have used them ever since.

I usually cook an entire bag of beans, use half for the chili, and freeze the other half to be used later, saving time and effort.  I like to soak the beans overnight.  It takes almost no effort, just a little planning.  I put the beans into a bowl, discarding any that are cracked or split.  On occasion, I have even found a rock in the mix, so it’s a good idea not to skip the sorting.

After sorting the beans, I fill the bowl with enough water to cover them by a few inches.  I leave them on the counter overnight and then strain the water and rinse the beans.  I move the beans to a pot and add enough water to cover them by a few inches.  I toss in a couple of garlic cloves for some added flavor but do not salt them at this point.  I bring the pot to a boil for ten minutes, cover the pot, then turn the heat down to a simmer.  I usually cook them for about an hour, checking them after 45 minutes, until they are the texture I like.

After cooking the beans, I drain them, add salt, and set them to the side.

I like to cook chili in a cast iron dutch oven, but any large pot will work.  I brown the ground beef, adding salt, and then set it aside.  I use a spider to strain the meat as I remove it from the pot and then pour the excess grease out.

Next, I add the butter to the pot and saute the onion and jalapeno.  I cook the vegetables until they are soft.  As garlic cooks much faster, I add it just before the vegetables finish cooking, so it doesn’t burn.

I add the meat back to the vegetables with the beans, stirring everything together well.  Next, I pour in the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, then the beer.  The idea of using the beer came from a very windy camping trip.  It was so windy that the chili would not heat up on the stove.  We ended up putting the pot directly into our fire pit.  Chris added a can of PBR to prevent the chili from drying out in the intense heat from the fire.  It was delicious, and I have used beer ever since.  The last time I made chili, I happened to have a bottle of Guinness, so I threw it in.  The dark beer added a new level of flavor that was spectacular. I will make chili with Guinness from now on.

Finally, I add the cumin and chili powder, stirring it well, tasting to check the salt level, and then bring it to a boil.  After it boils, I turn the heat down and simmer it for about an hour and a half or so, occasionally stirring, until it is the right consistency.  I check the chili after an hour and then again every fifteen minutes, making sure not to cook it to the point that the beer turns bitter.

Before serving the chili, I top it off with chopped red onions, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.  After Chris tasted the last batch of chili, he said, “I don’t know what you do to your chili, but it is amazing.”  That is about as good a compliment on my cooking as I have ever had.

Based on ten servings, without the condiments, the chili has 331 calories, 14 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, 17 grams of fat, and 26 grams of protein.