Bourbon Beef and Bean Chili has a unique mixture of flavors that come from a slow cooked chuck roast, bourbon, red kidney beans and lots of roasted Hatch Chile peppers. This spicy bourbon chili is one of our favorite Hatch green chili recipes.
But I Already Have a Chili Recipe:
Just like black shoes, one can never have enough chili recipes.
I had almost a full bottle of bourbon staring at me where I used a small amount for a recipe earlier in the week. So I made an executive decision to develop a chili recipe to accommodate the spirit, using something other than ground beef.
And using something other than pinto beans. And using some of my beloved stash of Hatch Chile Peppers from the freezer.
In my humble opinion the combination I put together turned out quite tasty. And the Ranch Hand gave it very strong marks. Deep and rich in flavor, with just enough spicy heat to be interesting, it was glorious with the cubed beef roast.
About this Beef and Bean Chili Recipe:
I bought a chuck roast that weighed in somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 pounds. I trimmed the roast of connective tissue and excess fat. I then cut the roast into large bite-sized pieces, sprinkled the pieces with salt, pepper and flour.
I heated oil in my Dutch oven and seared the meat in two batches. Towards the end of the second batch, I added chopped onion and cooked for a few more minutes. Then I added back in the rest of the seared meat and the bourbon. I let that simmer for a couple of minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
At that point the work was done and the whole thing simmered stove top for about three hours or until the meat was fall apart tender.
Simply serve with a dollop of sour cream, some grated cheese and a wedge of lime.
Bourbon Beef and Bean Chili Recipe Notes
I do not recommend using a package of pre-cut stew meat for the beef and bean chili.
Stew meat is a combination of cuts of meat that may not be as tender as you’d expect. The best cut of meat to use for the beef and bean chili is a boneless chuck roast. It’s a beefy tasting cut of meat. And you want it for tender end result. If you use a leaner cut of meat, the meat will dry out and get tough with the long simmer.
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.
Chili versus Chile:
Please note that this beef and bean chili recipe uses both Chile Powder and Chili Seasoning.
Chile powder with an “e” is a single ground chile powder.
Chili (with an “i”) seasoning is a blend of seasonings that routinely consists of cumin, chile powder, Mexican Oregano, garlic, etc., used to season chili soup.
I urge you to always buy quality chili seasoning. For the single blend of Chile Powder, I used New Mexico Chimayo Red Chile powder. Ancho would also work for this beef and bean chili recipe. If you use Chipotle Chile Powder, you’ll get a smokier flavor.
Bourbon Beef and Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pound Chuck Roast connective tissue removed, excess fat removed, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3-5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1/2 cup Bourbon
- 32 ounces Beef broth
- 2 15 1/2 ounce cans kidney beans drained
- 1 15 1/2 ounce can chopped tomatoes not drained
- 2 teaspoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder add more if you want more heat
- 1 tablespoon good quality Chili seasoning
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Pickapeppa sauce or Worcestershire
- 4-6 Hatch Chile Peppers roasted, seeds, stem and charred outer skin removed, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
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 Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1/2 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 1 minute. Add the bourbon and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add beef broth and remaining ingredients. Turn heat to low and simmer for 2 – 3 hours 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.
