Chilling Turkey Chili

This Sunday, Liz made a request for Halloween chili of the sort that we New Mexicans sometimes call "Texas chili." (Nevermind that we were watching the World Series and rooting for the SF Giants to trounce the Texas Rangers…) You might know it as Chile con Carne or Chili Beans, but basically, it's the yummy meaty, beany, tomato-saucy stew that is distinctly different from NM chile (with an "e"). At some point, I'll expound on the whole New Mexican chile taxonomy, but for now, I'll just share the recipe I came up with. I have to say it was pretty great considering my prejudice against Texas and that I made the decidedly California move of using turkey instead of beef. Ah, regionalism… Anyway, this is how it goes:

1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 largish onion, diced
4 or 5 jalapeños or other hot peppers, diced (so about 1/2–3/4 c. depending on how hot you want it)
5 cloves garlic, minced

Saute all of this in olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until veggies are soft.

Add to the pot:

2 lbs. ground turkey (I used 1 lb. each of white and dark meat for the best texture and flavor)

3 tbsp. red chile powder (NM red is, of course, the best…)

2 tbsp. oregano

2 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. green chile flakes if you've got 'em, otherwise red will do (I also like to grind these up in the spice grinder a bit)

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa (yes, cocoa)

1 tsp. black pepper

1/4 chopped up cilantro stems

Turn up the heat a bit, and mix all of this together. Break up the turkey as much as possible, and cook until spices are fragrant and turkey is cooked through. 

Now add:

3 c. chicken broth

1 c. beer (I used Eel River's Porter, which has a pretty strong coffee flavor that works well in the chili. In fact, next time I make this, I may throw some finely ground coffee in, too.)

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes in their juice

1/2 can of tomato paste (I think that's about 3 oz.)

Cover and bring to a boil. Remove the lid and let simmer over medium heat for about 10 min. 

Finally, add:

4 c. cooked, drained beans—I had cooked up a batch of beautiful nightfall beans earlier in the day (it was Halloween, after all), but you could use canned beans or a combo of different kinds of beans—whatever suits your bean fancy. For more on cooking beans, please pop over to Aly's blog for her definitive bean treatise at the end of this recipe.

You may need to add more chicken broth at this point—just make sure everything's covered with liquid. Simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes or so until the liquid reduces a bit. Add salt to taste.

Serve with grated cheese and cilantro.

I also made a spooky blue cornbread to go with, but stupidly neglected to take a photo of it. Another post  on that will undoubtedly show up soon.