A couple months ago I was telling you that I was unhappy with my usual chili recipe. I’ve been experimenting with new recipes and variations. Alex at The Children’s War very generously sent me her favorite chili recipe. It’s very good and I want to share it with you before the weather heats up too much and the chili season is over. Here’s the recipe. See my notes at the end.
Chili a la Franey
- 1 pound very lean coarsely ground pork
- 1 pound very lean coarsely ground beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon crumbled dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3 cups tomatoes with tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- 2 cups drained kidney beans
- Sour cream as garnish, optional
- Lime wedges as garnish, optional
Directions:
- If possible, have the pork and beef ground together coarsely.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy kettle and add the meat. Cook, chopping down and stirring with the side of a heavy metal kitchen spoon to break up the lumps.
- Add the onions, green pepper, celery, garlic, oregano, bay leaves and cumin. Stir to blend well.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, water, salt and pepper to taste, and add the red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add the beans and cook 10 minutes longer. Serve in hot bowls with a dollop of sour cream and lime wedges, if desired.
Yield: 8 or more servings.
My Notes:
- I made the recipe exactly as listed.
- I liked the mix of pork and beef. Very flavorful.
- Next time I’ll only use half the celery. One cup gave it too much of the celery taste to suit us.
- The addition of bay leaves was a surprise. I’ve used bay leaves with other beef dishes but it never occurred to me to try bay leaves in chili. It was perfect. I’ll definitely do this again.
- I usually add many more beans than the two cups called for but we didn’t miss them at all. In fact, my husband, the chili expert, liked this meaty version a lot. It will definitely be repeated.
Thank you so much Alex.
For more Weekend Cooking, visit Beth Fish Reads. For this month’s Whip Up Something New, visit Michelle at My Favorite Time Of Day.
I think I would like this recipe simply because it doesn’t have that many beans. I find lime wedges as a garnish very interesting – did you squeeze some lime juice into your chili?
Yummy Margot! And chili season is never over. The park here had a chili cookoff in February when temperatures were probably as warm as you’re going to get in the summer. Good stuff too.
It’s funny, I like hot food better during hot weather for some reason, so that’s when I want chile, so this is perfect!
After having read your post I’m hugry ! I like chili but never cooked them with pork. I’ll try !
Yum. I use a mix of meats in meatloaf, so why not in chili! I can’t wait to try using bay leaves — I’ve never added them to chili either.
I love chili any time of year, your sounds sounds ao good! Saving it and I will definitely be making this, my daughter likes chili so much, she sometimes has it for breakfast!
I love experimenting with chili. We went the completely opposite in our latest incarnation — no meat at all. But, you know, that bay leaf might be an interesting touch to our version as well!
This looks like a great recipe. Chile was on our menu this week, too – made my turkey version (think I posted it earlier this year). The calendar may say spring, but it’s still chili weather!
Kathy: You asked about the limes – I didn’t try the lime garnish in the chili, although I did use the sour cream. I love limes and when I have some they go into my Diet Coke which, by the way, also goes good with chili.
I would love to make a mean chili for once (and looking at the spices you’re using, it does sound tasty!), but I’m not sure what to replace the meat with (being a vegetarian). Tofu probably doesn’t do the trick, but perhaps seitan does? Hmm.
I agree, 1 cup of celery seems quite a lot for my taste, too. Other than that, it sounds yummy!
Sounds delicious and not to terribly spicy. Yummy!
I use bay leaves all the time in soup, but never thought to add them to chili.
I see from your sidebar that you are reading Hotel on the corner of Bitter and Sweet; that was one of my favorite reads from last year.
I used made chili for the first time last month. Still not sure how I feel about it.
Bay leaves and beef broth. Why did I never think to add those.
You can make it vegetarian by first freezing your tofu, and then when you thaw it, it will crumble nicely.
There’s a few ingredients that I don’t add to my chili and now I will have to give it a go!!
I don’t usually add green pepper, celery or cumin. I’ll have to give that a try. I get bored with the same chili and I’ve been making the same recipe for… I won’t say how many years!
i will be trying this one, thanks for sharing it and your experience with it.
This sounds really good. I like the idea of limes as well. I will be saving this recipe to try next time I make chili.