Make Ahead

New Year's Day (or any other time) Chili

by:
January 26, 2012
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves Many
Author Notes

We were having a New Year's Day gathering and wanted to come up with something to feed the bleary-eyed horde we anticipated arriving. What we came up with was the following recipe - a chicken and black-eyed pea (for good luck) chili with a southwestern twist, using tomatillos as the base. We served the chili (which managed to feed about 30 people) with cornbread and greens. My only complaint was that we did not have any leftovers. —rbnyc

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 cans black-eyed peas
  • 20 chicken thighs (skin on)
  • 3 large onions diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 pieces of bacon diced
  • 6 jalapeño peppers minced (I used the seeds)
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 28 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes diced
  • 1 14 oz jar roasted red peppers
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1-2 limes (juice only)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven the 350 degrees. Dry and liberally salt and pepper the chicken pieces, place them in a large baking pan (or two) and roast until just done, maybe 35 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool down a bit and then remove the skin and shred the chicken. Put the shredded chicken in a bowl. Once shredded, take the chicken stock that developed from the roasting and pour into a bowl or jar, removing the fat. Save that stock for use in the chili.
  2. Meanwhile, sauté the onions, garlic,bacon and jalapeños in a dutch oven or something similar in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent (maybe 10 minutes).
  3. Once onions are soft and translucent, add cumin, coriander, oregano, paprika, chili powder, paprika and salt (maybe a teaspoon at this time) to the onion mixture. Stir together well and cook for a minute or two until fragrant.
  4. To the onion/spice mixture add tomatillos and their juice, diced tomatoes and diced red peppers. Add the reserved chicken stock. Bring to a hearty simmer and then add the black-eyed peas (drain and rinse the beans before adding). Add the reserved shredded chicken with any juices that have accumulated. Check the liquid level and add more chicken stock if the chili seems too thick.
  5. Allow chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes. Since you are using chicken thighs it will be hard to overcook the chili.
  6. Just before serving add in the lime juice, cilantro and correct spicing including adding some black pepper.
  7. Serve over rice with corn bread and greens!
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2 Reviews

rbnyc February 4, 2013
Two cans of tomatillos. I will edit. Thanks for the heads up. Let me know what you think if you make the chili.
 
bjmengeling February 4, 2013
Tomatillos are not in the ingredients list. How much and in what form?