This Chuck Roast Chili with bourbon offers a rich and complex flavor profile, combining tender slow-simmered chuck roast, bourbon, red kidney beans, and a medley of warming spices. The addition of smoky roasted Hatch Chile Peppers takes it to the next level.
Looking for more Southwestern style chili recipes? Take a look at this recipe for Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Chili.
Why Use Chuck Roast For Chili?
Just like black shoes, one can never have too many chili recipes.
Instead of traditional ground beef, my recipe calls for chuck roast, cut into bite-sized pieces. Chuck roast is a great cut of beef for chili because it strikes the perfect balance of flavor, texture and affordability. Here’s why:
- Tender: Chuck comes from the shoulder of the cow, a fatty cut of beef, making it rich with beefy flavor. It’s ideal for braising and slow cooking methods to render the fat and break down the connective tissues. The slow cook process takes advantage of soaking up all of that rich flavor, infusing chili with deep savory flavor that ground beef can’t match.
- Texture: When chuck roast is braised low and slow, it breaks down into tender, juicy chunks of meat. The collagen melts into a gelatin, creating a rich texture in the chili sauce.
- Budget Friendly: Chuck roast is more affordable than premium cuts like short ribs or brisket and delivers a similar richness once cooked down. It’s widely available at your local grocery store, making it an easy upgrade from ground beef.
- Flavor: Chile soups benefit from long slow simmers for spices to marry and the sauce to thicken. Chuck roast becomes a perfect partner for this environment as it becomes more tender and flavorful, (whether cooked stove top or slow cooker), the longer it simmers.
In short, chuck roast makes chili heartier and more luxurious than versions made with ground beef.
Bourbon in Chili
To enhance the dish, a splash of Kentucky Bourbon adds subtle notes of oak, vanilla, and caramel. The chemistry works well with traditional chili flavors.
I’m actually not much of a fan of the flavor of bourbon, but once it blends with the ingredients, it does add a depth of flavor that I think you’ll love.
Red Kidney Beans In Chili
Believing that beans are essential for a satisfying chili, I've chosen canned red kidney beans. They not only complement the rustic theme of this recipe but also keep the color rich and dark.
Putting It All Together
This hearty chuck roast chili stands out with its unique flavors, showcasing the richness of Southwestern spices. We use a blend of classic chili powder, a blend of spices often found in Tex-Mex dishes, paired with a single blend New Mexico Red Chile powder. This combination creates a perfectly balanced, earthy, and slightly spicy depth of flavor.
After flouring and browning the meat, the recipe comes together effortlessly. A two-hour stovetop simmer is all it takes before you're ready to serve it up.
With just the right amount of spicy heat, this chili is bursting with bold flavor. Let's dive in!
Chuck Roast Chili Ingredients
Spices To Make Chuck Roast Chili
The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it as spicy hot as you want. The recipe calls for one teaspoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder and Hatch Chile Peppers. Choose mild , medium or hot for these.
- Pickapeppa Sauce: Search it out on the condiment aisle. It’s a Jamaican sauce that’s a cross between Worcestershire sauce and steak sauce. From their web site: “A unique blend of tomatoes, onions, sugar, cane vinegar, mangoes, raisins, peppers and spices”. I use it in all of my savory soup recipes.
- Kosher salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
- Chili seasoning with an “i”. Use a good quality chili seasoning, which is a blend of spices used to make Texas style chili’s.
- Honey
- Red Chile Powder: A single blend chili powder, preferably from New Mexico.
- Hatch Chile Peppers: Choose mild, medium or hot. Depending on your heat level tolerance.
Ingredients For The Chili
- Canned Tomatoes: Petite diced tomatoes recommended. They’ll break down easier during the cooking process for a more pleasant texture.
- Red Kidney Beans: Or you can use canned Pinto Beans. I’m a fan of chili con carne, where beans are added to chili. If you’re on the side of Texas style chili with no beans, simply omit them.
- Onion: Sweet or yellow onion.
- Bourbon: Use a good Kentucky Bourbon please. I used Forester brand.
- Beef Broth or Beef Stock
- Beef Chuck Roast: Cut into bite sized pieces.
How To Make Chuck Roast Chili – Step by Step
- Step 1: Remove excess fat and connective tissue from the chuck roast. Cut the roast into large bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper and coat the meat with flour, tossing with your hands. Coating the meat with flour will not only serve to thicken the chili a bit, but the starch in the flour will caramelize quickly for a deeper color and flavor.
- Step 2: Heat a large skillet or a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ½ of the oil. When oil is hot, add half of the flour-coated meat. Saute until browned. Remove to a place and repeat with the remaining oil and beef.
Pro Tip: Don't skip searing the meat. This is a crucial step in getting the most flavor out of this meal. Searing creates what is technically called Maillard reaction. Maillard reaction is the process where a crust is created. Simply stated, it's responsible for the complex flavors and aroma that makes bread taste toasty, and a grilled or seared burger taste charred. It's a technique that brings science to your cooking skills.
- Step 3: When the 2nd batch of beef is almost done, add chopped onion and stir. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Step 4: Remove the chuck roast and onions to a plate. Add the bourbon to deglaze the pan, scraping with a sturdy spatula. Then simmer for 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol, stirring often.
- Step 5: Add beef broth and remaining ingredients to a large Dutch oven. Turn heat to low and simmer for 2 – 3 hours, partially covered, or until the beef is fork tender. Taste chili periodically to adjust seasoning such as salt, pepper, and chile powder.
Toppings For Chili – How To Serve It
- Simply serve with a dollop of sour cream, some grated cheese and a wedge of lime. Pepper Jack, cheddar or even Cotija cheese works well here.
- We also like to serve Chuck Roast Chili with some crushed corn chips.
- A little dollop of Chunky Guacamole would add a nice touch.
- Sliced fresh jalapeno peppers, or even Pickled Jalapeno Peppers would add additional color and heat.
- What To Serve it With: A slice of homemade Cheesy Cornbread would make a perfect partner.
- Side Dishes: Chili is a hearty meal in its own right, but to make it a meal, serve a simple side salad with a popular dressing like this Red Wine Vinegar Dressing.
Tips for Success
- Purchase a chuck roast and cut it into bite-sized pieces yourself. I do not recommend using a package of pre-cut stew meat. Stew meat is a combination of cuts of meat that may not be as tender as you’d expect.
- The color of this chili is deep, bold and rich. I suggest sticking with red kidney beans to follow suit.
- If you don’t have access to Hatch chile peppers, poblano peppers would be a beautiful substitute. Or Anaheim. Just roast them under the broiler, or better yet, on your stove top open flame. Or purchase cans of chopped Hatch Chile Peppers on the Mexican aisle of the grocery store.
- Chile and Chili: Please note that this beef and bean chili recipe uses both Chile Powder and Chili Seasoning. Chile powder is a blend of spices used to make Tex-Mex style chili soups. Chile (with an “e”) is a single blend red chile powder. To learn more take a look at my article Chili vs. Chile.
Questions You May Have
The best cut of meat to use for chuck roast chili is a boneless chuck roast. It’s a beefy tasting cut of meat. Choose a chuck roast with good marbling for a tender chuck roast. If you use a leaner cut of meat, like a bottom round roast, the meat will dry out and get tough with the long simmer.
Yes. Start by browning the meat, onions and garlic stovetop. Transfer all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours, and low for 6 hours.
If you skip the flouring step for browning, this chili will be gluten free. The starch in the flour simply help to caramelize the beef chunks for deeper flavor. You can sear the meat without it.
When using slow cooking methods, it can take a couple of hours for most of the alcohol to “cook off” or evaporate. The long cooking time for this recipe should cook off 95% of the alcohol.
Make Ahead, Storage and Reheating
- Make Ahead: Absolutely yes. As with any soup, stew or chili the flavors mature and are always better the next day. Make this chili in advance for meal prep or if entertaining.
- Storage: Store Chuck Roast Chili in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to four days. It will also freeze well and keep for three months. I like to use zip-lock style freezer bags. Just stand them to to fill, squeeze the air out, and making sure they’re well sealed, lay flat to optimize freezer space.
- To Reheat: Thaw the chili overnight in the refrigerator. Re-heat in a sauce pan or in individual bowls in the microwave. The 50% power feature on your microwave is your best friend. Gently reheat individual servings in 30 second increments to gently reheat. A gentle reheat will also keep the beef from drying out.
Recipe for Chuck Roast Chili with Bourbon
More Chili Recipes
And if you’re soup lovers like us, don’t miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of great recipes including the most popular chili recipe on my site for Hatch Green Chili.
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Chuck Roast Chili with Bourbon
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pound Chuck Roast connective tissue removed, excess fat removed, cut into bite sized pieces
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion sweet or yellow, diced
- 3 clove garlic Chopped. About 1 tablespoon
- 1 Cup Bourbon
- 32 ounces Beef broth or Beef stock
- 2 15 ½ ounce cans kidney beans drained
- 1 15 ½ ounce can chopped tomatoes not drained
- 1 teaspoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder add more if you want more heat
- 1 tablespoon Chili seasoning good quality
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon Pickapeppa sauce or Worcestershire
- 1 Cup Hatch Chile Peppers roasted, seeds, stem and charred outer skin removed, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Remove excess fat and connective tissue from the chuck roast. Cut the roast into large bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper and coat the meat with flour, tossing with your hands.
- Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ½ of the oil. When oil is hot, add half of the flour-coated meat. Saute until browned. Remove to a place and repeat with the remaining oil and beef.
- When the 2nd batch of beef is almost done, add chopped onion and stir. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Remove the chuck roast and onions to a plate. Add the bourbon to deglaze the pan, scraping with a sturdy spatula. Then simmer for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol, stirring often with the spatula.
- Add beef broth, seared chuck roast and remaining ingredients to a large Dutch Oven. Turn heat to low and simmer for 2 – 3 hours, partially covered with lid ajar, or until the beef is fork tender. Taste chili periodically to adjust seasoning such as salt, pepper, and chile powder.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheese and a wedge of lime.
Notes
- Purchase a chuck roast and cut it into bite-sized pieces yourself. I do not recommend using a package of pre-cut stew meat. Stew meat is a combination of cuts of meat that may not be as tender as you’d expect.
- The color of this chili is deep, bold and rich. I suggest sticking with red kidney beans to follow suit.
- If you don’t have access to Hatch chile peppers, poblano peppers would be a beautiful substitute. Or Anaheim. Just roast them under the broiler, or better yet, on your stove top open flame. Or purchase cans of chopped Hatch Chile Peppers on the Mexican aisle of the grocery store.
- Chile and Chili: Please note that this beef and bean chili recipe uses both Chile Powder and Chili Seasoning. Chile powder is a blend of spices used to make Tex-Mex style chili soups. Chile (with an “e”) is a single blend red chile powder. To learn more take a look at my article Chili vs. Chile.
Nutrition
Chuck Roast Chili with Bourbon … It’s What’s For Dinner
