Easy Meat Lovers Chili

Meat Lovers Chili is loaded up with three kinds of meat, making this recipe a hearty favorite when the weather cools down and appetites ramp up.  Everybody loves this easygoing one pot meal.

This meat lovers chili is a fix-it-and-forget-it type of recipe — once you’ve got the meat (3 pounds!) browned, you can basically dump everything else in, give it a stir, and let it simmer away on its own.  When you’re ready to chow down, let everybody serve themselves and top it with their favorite garnishes.  Never have so many been so well fed with so little effort.

TIP: Chili is one of those dishes that is easy to put together, but does benefit from a long slow simmer.  That allows all the complex flavors to develop and mingle.  Plan on at least 2 hours of (almost hands off) cooking time.  I will let it sit on the stove for another hour off the heat, just to let it ‘mature’.  Then it can be refrigerated until later, or reheated and served.

This isn’t rocket science…I saute a large chopped onion, then brown each of the meats ~ beef, pork, and sausage ~ individually.  After that everything goes back in the pot with a bottle of beer, a can of good crushed tomatoes, and all the seasonings.  Bring it up to a simmer and let it work itself into a wonderfully rich chili.  I add a can of beans and chili peppers toward the end, and then I’ll thicken it up with a slurry of masa harina and water.

TIP: Masa harina is a super fine textured corn flour that is used to make tortillas and tamales, etc.  I love to mix it with water, just like you would do with cornstarch, and use it to thicken up my chili.  I always have a bag in the cupboard, and it’s essential if you want to make your own homemade tortillas.  I also make Masa Harina Biscuits that are unbelievably tender.  Look for it next to the corn meal in your supermarket.

Personally, I don’t need 3 kinds of meat in any one meal, but I made this to tempt my husband, who usually turns up his nose at chili for dinner.  I love to usher in Fall with a big bowl of comforting chili, so this recipe was created to make us both happy.

TIP: Toppings matter!  I grew up in a house where chili was just a plain brown stew (no offense, mom!)  But now I’m in the more is better camp when it comes to chili garnishes.  Cheese, sliced green onion, olives, cilantro, avocado, sour cream, crushed corn chips…pile it on!

notes:

• My husband has the habit of putting corn chips at the bottom of the bowl before he ladles in his serving of chili.  I used to think it was odd, but once I tried it, I was hooked. 
• The alcohol in the beer will evaporate by the end of cooking, leaving just a hint of flavor.

don’t forget to pin my Meat Lovers Chili!

other fabulous chilis~

Slow Cooked Hatch Pepper Chili

Chasen’s Chili from Saving Room for Dessert

Sweet and Smokey Barbecue Chicken Chili from Carlsbad Cravings

Chili Con Carne from She Wears many Hats

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili from Spend with Pennies

Creamy White Turkey Chili

Butternut Squash Chili from Heather Cristo