Quick turkey chili

Here’s a new take on my standard chili recipe, the way I’ve been making it lately – with a few changes to my mom’s original but still perfect for a chilly night.

It yields a bit less, so you don’t need to open as many cans and there aren’t as many leftovers to worry about (but of course you could scale up).   Actually, the beauty of this recipe is its flexibility.  I like mixing black and kidney beans, but you can customize in all sorts of ways, from the type of beans to the type of meat, and the relative quantities.  I’ve also found that adding some beer really improves the flavor – I’ve been using very dark porter, which gives extra oomph.

Of course, you can’t change the “secret” ingredients of brown sugar and red wine vinegar!

We opened a bottle of fruity Matervini Malbec from our visit to Mendoza, which was an excellent pairing.

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Quick turkey chili

1 small onion
1 orange pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lb ground turkey or chicken
3 tbsp chili powder
Cayenne, optional
Salt to taste
28 oz strained or pureed tomatoes (I used 26.5 oz Pomi box)
15 oz can whole tomatoes
15 oz can black beans
15 oz can kidney beans
1 can water
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 – 1/2 bottle of beer

 

Dice the onion and pepper (and garlic, if using) and saute in oil until softened.  Add the turkey and cook, then add the chili powder and salt.

Next, add the tomatoes.  (For the whole tomatoes, pour in the juice and then chop the tomatoes before adding.)

Drain and rinse the beans, then add along with water.  Simmer for 15-30 minutes, depending on how much time you have, then stir in beer, brown sugar, and vinegar.  Bring back to simmer.

Chili improves with age!