Just Good Chili

Great recipe, nice flavor. I used a NA Oatmeal Stout. Chili powder for the chili sauce. And jalapeño for the fresh Chili. I also left out the sirloin but would try that at some point. Cheers!

One of my favorite chili recipes. I also add some chorizo. I add whatever I have in my refrigerator. Fresh tomatoes, 1 Tbsp better than beef bouillon, a little garlic. Always a crowd pleaser.

I made this chili today and can say it was really good. I followed the recipe as written in terms of quantity of ingredients. I did not substitute. I believe the recipe I used was rewritten based on previous comments. I used 1/4 cup brown sugar recommended in the recipe and found it to balance out the heat. I found the liquid ingredients to be perfect. I cooked it for 3 hours, I did purée one can of beans and the thickness was perfect. I used one Fresno chili finely chopped which I would recommend if you like some heat. For those who like more heat, I would recommend more - depends on hot they are. The meat and beans provide a high protein meal that tastes great! I highly recommend.

Seriously love this recipe. It never fails. Love the combination of the beer, coffee an chocolate. One questions I have is about liquid…..i read reviews where comments were made about beef stock….I don’t see it in the recipe. I’ve never used it…but curious if it could be even better with it and if so how much?

This is a very flavorful chili, but a little too spicy for me. I used half a jalapeno. Next time I think I'd leave out the cayenne.

Love the comments congratulating @JESTEI for being in the NYT! Cover above the fold more often than food but I would definitely classify this as a No Recipe Recipe. I am partial to Texas style chili but my teenager wanted “ski mountain chili” on this cold weekend so here I went and so glad I did (and read the comments obv). Followed as written but switched up the order: browned ground and onions then added spices and tomato paste to that and let it do its thing then kind of deglazed with beer then added tomatoes and beans. So good. NB love directions that invite you to drink what you’re cooking with. So very Julia.

This is a fabulous recipe. My 3 favorite drinks, coffee, hot chocolate and beer are what drew me to this at first. I like how it is customizable. I did not add carrots. I did not have a chile (chili?) so used some chili powder. I had 1/2 bottle of chili sauce in fridge so used it all. I had fire roasted tomatoes, so used them. It is truly scrumptious.

All the raves are spot on; this is hands down the best chili recipe I've found that is still easily doable (my other favorite, from Homesick Texan, takes literally the entire day and involves procuring 7 different whole dried chiles, doing the whole scorch and reconstitute jig, making nearly every component/ingredient from scratch, simmers something like 5 hours, etc...delicious but I can barely muster the energy to make it even once a year). For the relative ease this has a wonderful, distinguished depth of flavor. For something like a decade I've tried so many other chili recipes that swore they'd win any cookoff, generate diehard fanatics, etc., sometimes using the same ingredients and spices (coffee, cocoa, beer, cumin, etc.), sometimes more exotic stuff, sometimes a lot of complicated fixins, usually more of a hassle...and for some reason this one blows all of those out of the water--so many recipes include this delicious sounding stuff and then I can't really taste it in the finished chili, while this one delivers every element you put into it, and how. I love that yes it requires a somewhat lengthy simmer but frankly is in every other respect quite simple/straightforward. Flavors and flavor balance perfect. Thank you so much for my new go-to chili recipe!

Really good base recipe that takes no more work then using a packet but tastes 100 x better.

Alterations I made....

Delete Beef Stock
Beer = Three Floyds Zombie Dust
Swap chili sauce with Frontera Guajillo Pepper Adobo Sauce (3 T)
Add Garlic, Red and Green Bell Pepper

Excellent stuff for sure!

This is our go-to chili recipe and I have a pot of it simmering right now. We've been making this since it was originally posted (before Jetsei came back and made some tweaks). It used to have more sugar -- we use 1/3 c. brown sugar. I also always add at least 1 T, and usually more, of some kind of chile powder (often ancho). The long simmer is essential for letting all the flavors meld together. I've made this veg using a combo of partially pulverized chickpeas and smooshed lentils. Love this recipe!

This is a fantastic recipe, and for all of the ingredients, it's a breeze to make. The seasoning is just perfect. Thank you, Jetsei! I used a Kona Lager and a teaspoon of instant coffee. I wasn't sure what chili sauce was, so I left it out and instead bought dice canned tomatoes with chili seasoning. I also added two cloves of garlic, because I couldn't help it.

I'm confused by the recipe and the comments. Too much liquid? I didn't have enough. Chili powder? I only see an ingredient listed as "chili sauce." Should the beans go straight from the can into the chili, or should they be rinsed. And is there stock in this? Don't see that either in the recipe. Help!

Okay, hands down, the BEST chili I've ever had. Seriously amazing flavors. You can really taste the ale. I used less cocoa powder because I'm slightly terrified of cocoa flavors in my savory dishes. The two different kinds of meat were great as my boyfriend is always complaining about not enough meat in chili. I also only used 1 tablespoon of sugar after reading other comments. I didn't miss the other 3 tablespoons.

This was good, if a bit soupy. If I make again, I'll cut down on some of the liquid, probably the stock, and definitely cut down on the sugar. Far too sweet. My husband loved it as is, but for me and our 2 sons, something less sugary & with a bit more heat. I don't know if I'd call it chili, but it's got potential!

This chili is amazing, love all of the complex flavors! So so easy and delicious!

I love this recipe. It won our hometown chili contest a couple years ago.

I've made this several times. It is excellen as written, balanced flavors. I have amended it once or twice of necessity, but I keep coming back to the recipe as it is. Delish!

I have been making chili with beer and mexican chocolate for years (my family has just always done it that way, and we are Irish-ha!). It is delicious and always a favorite. Never tried using cocoa powder but will next time.

I made this with just ground turkey because I'm not a meat eater, but this was delicious! I used diced tomatoes with green chilis, some chipotle in adobo since I had it on hand (chopped fine), and a little dark chili spice just for fun. I think this is a malleable and delicious chili recipe! Use what you have and edit it to your tastes. Yum!!

Made it last night in two versions - meat and vegetarian. Both tribes seemed to love it! Great recipe and you get to drink a few swigs of beer in the making. A keeper...

This was fabulous! The change I recommend most is something I learned from another food52 chili recipe--puree one of the cans of beans (I used one of the kidney beans) with some tomatoes), it adds a smooth thickness that makes this a little heartier with nothing extra. I love that this can be played with endlessly, depending on what you have. My variables: I used a 28 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes, upped the spices a bit, Greenman Porter, a jalapeno, no carrots, one heaping tablespoon of brown sugar, and Sriracha for chili paste. I didn't find it in the least sweet, it was all pretty perfect actually. The flavors were beautifully complex without being garish--coffee, beer, and cocoa were beautiful together. I also *love* the addition of cubed meat, it was so tender with the long simmer, and will probably add more in the future. Thanks for this!

Instead of ground beef/turkey, I substituted a pork loin I needed to use.
I cut it into med chunks, browned off in cuisinart and followed rest of recipe until the beans.....I had pink beans, white and black beans...they worked great.
The meat was so succulent. Lastly, I used Cafe du Mond coffee....the chicory
taste was not overwhelming, just right.
Thanks for your recipes☀️

Two questions: Do I drain and rinse the canned beans or not?
Simmer covered or uncovered?

I made this and OMG... omg omg. So good. Been up all night thinking of it. Thanks!

That is not chili...It is a soup like chili....I have a recipe for chili that won the world championship many many years ago, forgot the date...It is so far above this there is no comparison and no cocoa..chili does not have cocoa, the meats the whole thing is for amateurs......................

WOW!!!! I admit, I was skeptical of the ingredient list, but this was a fantastic recipe! A few comments: a) I started with soaked dried beans, so I added a 14.5oz can of tomato sauce and a 14.5oz can of water b) I omitted the sirloin c) I added roasted corn. Thank you for sharing!!

This was Delicious! I'd never used the cocoa, coffee, beer combo in chili before and my husband was prepared to not like it at all ("nobody makes chili THAT way"!). He then ate 2 very large bowls and said it was great! Had only 1 lb of ground beef so I tweaked the recipe. Since I kept adding more and more of the spices as well as the chili "holy trinity"(not the cajun/creole "holy trinity"), I probably ended up using close to the original amounts. I didn't have a chili to use, I used a whole can of tomatoes, 1 can of light red kidney beans, and because I'd had my 1 yo and 4 yo grand children for the entire day, I took several big swigs of the beer and added the rest. Forgot to add the cayenne, but will next time. Used a whole red bell pepper instead of carrots and about 2 Tb brown sugar. Will make again soon! Thanks so much for the recipe!

How much beef stock?!

I just made this recipe. I think it's horrible...way too sweet. Has no resemblance to chili at all.

This is the ebt chili I've ever made! I had the chance to make it with ground moose and venison. Delish!

Fabulous. Made it according to the recipe except the chili as use which I didn't have. Used cherry chipotle barbecue sauce instead.

Yes, indeed, congratulations!! I've made this chili a bunch of times and it's delicious. I'll try the others you have recipes for in the NYTimes as well.

Congratulations on being in the NYTimes! I immediately recognized the recipe when I saw it.
Love making this recipe of yours, especially when it's so cold here in NYC.

Truly delicious chili with real flavor complexity and depth. The only change I would make would be to the amount of brown sugar--I used 1/3 cup and still found it to be too sweet for my liking.

Terrific chili recipe, I used crushed coriander seeds since I wasn't sure what the recipe was calling for, habanero chill sauce and cut back on the brown sugar and cayenne. It was still spicy but not too spicy, and was great with fresh juice margaritas. Sustained us for the Broncos victory dance.

Omg, this is the best. Nice and thick. I didn't have coffee but used espresso powder instead. I decreased the brown sugar amount and used 2 cans of beans. The ground meat was pork. Excellent.

I made this for a chili cook-off at work (not a good idea for a first time recipe, but hey). I made a few changes: half an onion, subbed the chili sauce, cayenne and serrano for some canned chipotles in adobo sauce (because that's what I had and I don't like too spicy, added a good smokey flavor), subbed white beans for pinto, reduced brown sugar to 3T and bought a bag of shredded carrots which I sauteed with the onions (highly necessary in my opinion, they were still crunchy after 4hrs on low!). I wanted to use my crockpot for easy transport to work but when I doubled the recipe(though all the amounts I give are based the standard single recipe amount) I ran out of room (in a 7qt crockpot!) I had to haul out the LeCreuset and work half in the oven . By the end I wasn't really happy with it, it was very soupy and kind of bland (obviously it was missing some of the heat but it was more than just that). I almost abandoned ship but instead I buckled down and fixed it. I turned the heat up and cooked it down. I added another can of tomato paste because I like a thick sauce to coat everything. I added 1t more of salt, 1/2t of smoked paprika, 1/4t chili powder, 1/2t garlic powder (next time I would have used fresh garlic in with onions) and 1/2t onion powder. Then I was happy. I refrigerated it overnight and the next day I found that the sweetness had really intensified overnight. I would probably only use 1-2T of brown sugar next time. I think next time I would also marinate the steak with the spices ahead of time, it needed to absorb more flavor, the pieces were kind of bland. I would definitely try this again, it was different than my normal spice packet + ground beef chili. Worth the effort to say it was completely homemade and I loved the ground beef/steak combo!

This is now my all-time favorite chili! I used Oryx (antelope), but I don't think the meat is "key" - it's the seasonings. I doubt I'll get more game meat, but will use other meats and make this A LOT! Ate it 2 nights in a row & am craving more already - thanks for posting the recipe!

This chili is positively fabulous! I adapted a bit and used venison sausage and ground lamb... and holy cow.. bar none the best I've ever made. Now if only I could find more venison sausage... trying it with goose sausage this weekend. Thanks for such a great recipe!

I thought my chili was the best until I tried this one. The cocoa, coffee and beer add so much depth to this chili. It's wonderful. I used Siracha for the chili sauce and I substituted a can of black beans for one can of red. Fabulous.

This chili is way too sweet! My instincts told me 1/2 cup of brown sugar was too much, but I didn't listen. My guests called it the "dessert chili". I think this recipe has great potential. I plan to try it again with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

I made this for a fantasy football draft party and it was amazing. I did customize quite a bit (switched in pinto beans for one of the cans of kidney beans, only 1/4 cup brown sugar, added a reconstituted and pureed ancho chili, left out the coriander), and I also cooked it on the stovetop and then transferred to a slow cooker to keep it warm throughout the afternoon. Right before serving I cranked the slow cooker up to high and it worked well. I agree with other commenters that the holy trinity of beer, coffee, and cocoa powder is the real winner here.

Hot dang, that's good chili. Really, the take-away is the coffee, cocoa powder and beer. I changed the recipe to suit my preferences: used 2 lbs of ground beef; just pinch of coriander; used only red kidney beans; subbed the carrot for one red bell pepper; didn't have beef stock, so used chicken stock; used Modelo Especial but probably should have used a darker beer; more onions; salted the ingredients throughout the cooking process. It needed a fair amount of salt-- I'd say at least 3 teaspoons, if not more. Dressed with sour cream and melted shredded cheddar. Ate with tortilla chips. Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum....

Served at Super Bowl dinner last night. Guest comment this morning: "that was killin' chili, best I've ever eaten "

I made this last night. I left the carrots and broth out. I used Serrano and a jalapeño peppers but didn't have cayenne on had so I used a generous teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. The beer I used was Yuengling Black & Tan which complemented the dark cocoa powder perfectly! I did drain my beans but there was still a lot if liquid so I turned up the flame for an hour or so. That reduced the liquid enough for me. Total time was about 4 hours from start to finish. Then I topped it with shredded Monteray and light sour cream. I haven't used a recipe for my chili in 20? years. This was excellent and may become my new Super Bowl chili!

should beans be added after first hour of simmering if they are canned?

can this be cooked and then frozen?

This turned out very well. I love a dish that's little effort in and a lot of flavor out! Literally, all you have to prep is an onion and some carrots. The rest is pour it in and let it all blend together. It has a warm, sweet, mild heat that makes it pleasing to an adult palette but mild enough for kids. I have tried several recipes with beer or chocolate but the combination of the beer, chocolate, and coffee is rich, but distinct. This one definitely makes the do over and over list.

I was always a McCormick Slow Cookers kind of guy, which I embellished greatly to suit my taste. First, I was surprised at some of the ingredients: cocoa, coffee, beer and carrots. But after all was done, I could see where each had its place. This was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. After everything was added, I thought there would be too much liquid (I didn’t drain the canned beans). However, I slowed cooked this in a crock pot overnight (ten hours) and the excess liquid evaporated or was absorbed into the other ingredients. I think that’s key … slow cooking for at least 8-10 hours. I would have let it cook longer but I kept tasting it and it made me very hungry, so, after ten hours, I figured enough was enough. Great stuff! Thanks for the recipe.

This looks like some SERIOUSLY good chili...will make some for dinner tonight because it is SO cold outside.

I made this yesterday and it was so delicious - I can't wait for the leftovers tonight! I think Jenny's right you can make substitutions to this recipe as you wish and you'll get something delicious. I didn't have sirloin tips, so just went with ground beef. I eliminated the carrots and the coffee, used about half the sugar and added a dash of smoked paprika. It's a great chili to play around with, and I'm sure I'll continue to experiment in the future - but I'll probably always keep the beer!

I made this for a big get together after Christmas. The chili was a big success. The only change I would make would be to reduce the amount of brown sugar. The coffee, cocoa, and beer were awesome.

I like to make a chili like this and it is always a hit! I like to toast and grind the spices first, it really makes a difference. If I dont have cocoa, I just grate a square of unsweetened chocolate into it. I often add hot smoked paprika, or sub it for the cayenne.

This chili was outrageously good! I grew up in a strict chili-with-ground-beef-only home, so the addition of sirloin felt like a revelation. The balance was perfect with the combination of spices, coffee, beer, and brown sugar. I'm in love -- and I think another batch is headed for the stove this week. Thanks!

I made this in the slow cooker and it was amazing. I used a very wheaty specialized beer and super dark roasted coffee. The spice was just perfect. We ate it with some cream cheese and chive biscuits and I just wanted to die from the deliciousness.

I'm prepping the veggies and meat for this as we speak. Although, I'm using 5 diced pork chops, no beef stock, and no white beans. I don't think I'll use that much beer, either, as it's Miller Light, and it would be my first time cooking with beer (a shame!)

I'm so excited to taste this once it's done.

Can you tell me where you got the mug in the picture?

This is wonderful - though I confess we tinkered with it. We skipped the carrots and cayenne, substituted chili powder for the chopped chilies. We tried cooking it in the slow cooker but it turns out too watery (BTW, this happens with my other chili recipes so I was prepared for it). We simmered it on the stove to cook off extra liquid and it was lovely. However, in our opinion this hits it's peak flavor potential the next day. This will be my go-to make ahead chili. Great recipe, Jestei, thanks for sharing!

I made this as a vegetarian chili (too broke to indulge in meat) and all my vegetarian friends were in love!

Few questions - is Siracha ok to use for the "1 Tbsp chili sauce"? And below, Jetsei mentions chili powder - but I don't see any mentioned in the recipe??

And finally - do you brown the sirloin and ground meat separately - or just add the ground to the sirloin?

I think this is perhaps the best chili I have ever made/had! I was a little nervous when it called for all the liquid ingredients, but after simmering for nearly four hours, it thickened up very nicely!

I love, love, love it!

We added everything exactly as the recipe calls for and it was a bit sweet. I'm used to chili being more savory than this. Perhaps next time I'll cut the sugar down to 1/4 of a cup. Otherwise a good recipe

I cooked the chili for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit with the family. I would have loved it spicier but was cooking for five adults and two kids, 6.5 and 3.5. The older kid had two helpings. Served it with Monterey jack cheese , sour cream, rice and a few tortilla chips. Thanks again, Jenny, for a tasty, easy dish.

this looks awesome. do you think i could make it in a slow cooker?

My taste buds say this is delicious chili. I don't drink beer, and wouldn't know where to get Fat Tire. What's an alternate? Thank you.

Oh my. I haven't made chili yet this season but now the weather's cold in NC and it's time! Thanks for the inspiration.