In truth, I’ve never really had a formal recipe for this. I have been making this so long, I just have “the way” I do it. I think some family recipes are like that – evolving and changing within a general framework. I usually just throw stuff together in a general way, depending on what I have around. This time, I actually measured and paid attention. The main constants are the Chipotle in adobo sauce, smoked paprika, cumin and cocoa powder. I feel this gives the chili a depth of flavor.
I have also made this chili vegetarian by swapping out the ground turkey with 3 pounds of mushrooms (white, crimini, portobello or whatever) that I chop up small by carefully pulsing batches in my food processor – taking care not to liquify. I also like to freeze some leftover chili for an easy meal later down the road. (Or chili dogs!)
Feel free to fiddle around with the ingredient amounts to match your heat preference. I suppose that, after step 3, you can throw everything in to a big slow-cooker and simmer all day like that. I don’t have one big enough for these quantities and I get satisfaction from having a cauldron of goodness bubbling away on my stove.
Recipe
Turkey Chili
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 2 tbsp olive oil, Divided
- 1 lb. bag of dried beans (soaked over night as directed on label), black, pinto or kidney
- 2 16 oz. cans crushed or diced tomatoes
- 12 oz tomato paste
- 2 big white or yellow onions, diced
- 8 oz mushrooms, diced small (nice, but optional)
- 4 bell peppers, color does not matter, diced small
- 1 jalapenño pepper minced
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 heaping tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped roughly
- ½ tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 qt chicken or veggie broth
- 1 can dark Mexican beer
- 12 oz water
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a big Heavy Pot over a medium heat, cook onions in 1 tablespoon of oil carefully until softened. Add garlic, jalapeño, and bell peppers. Cook until softened and cooked down a bit. Remove veggies and set aside.
- In the rest of olive oil, sauté turkey until cooked mostly through. Add mushrooms (if using) and cook 3 minutes, mixing together.
- To the Mushroom Turkey mixture, add the tomato paste, cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, paprika, red pepper flakes, chili powder chipotle, and cayenne pepper. Stirring into meat over heat for 1 minute.
- Return the pepper mixture to the pan and add the beer. Simmer 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes and their juice, broth and water. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 3-4 hours until beans are softened – stirring every once in a while. Add salt to taste.
- Serve with all your favorite chili toppers: shredded cheese, thin sliced green onions, sour cream, tortilla chips, sliced radishes, and if the cousins are there, bacon!
