Smoked Beef Chili
Perhaps inspired by a few chilly nights in August (what happened to my summer?), I began thinking last week that a smoked beef chili might be a good idea. While I traditionally smoke pork bbq, I've been loving the smoked beef I've been making in recent years for summertime bbq's... and the more I thought about it I figured that flavor inside a big ole pot of chili was worth a shot. So I did, and the result was kinda bad ass. Very meaty, not overwhelmingly smokey, and definitely rich. I will refine my spice selection and the balance of beans to meat in the future, but here's a quick rundown of this first attempt:
First decision to make was what cut of beef to use? I normally make my stovetop chili with "stew meat" and I quickly learned I had no idea what that actually was (which is eye opening). The more I read up on it, "stew meat" doesn't really mean anything other than its cut into smallish pieces. Which also explains why the taste and texture of my chili in meals past varied so much. But as I thought more about it, a chuck roast seemed to make sense. After all, its ground chuck that makes a damn fine burger, and the fat to meat ratio seemed appropriate for a low and slow smoking event. So I found a 3 lb roast at Guido's in Great Barrington, and also picked up 3 lbs of ground chuck for variety in texture.
As for seasoning, my normal bbq rubs seemed out of place for a chili so I opted for a simple chili powder and kosher salt rub on the roast, and I coated the ground meat "loaf" in the sauce from chipotle's in adobo, and then dusted it with the chili powder combo. I wrapped them up (loved the candy wrapper look on that roast), and set them in the fridge overnight. Here are a few shots of that process:
I couldn't resist tearing into that chuck roast immediately, and I found a wonderfully moist, shreddable interior with a super beefy flavor:
Mostly because of laziness I decided to make the actual chili the next day, so I plopped the meat "loaf" and the roast in the fridge and instead enjoyed a smoked burger for dinner that night. The next day I sauteed up an onion, a bunch of poblano peppers, and some garlic in a dutch oven. I then sliced the meat "loaf" and the chuck roast into largish cubes, and tossed them in the pot. After letting that heat through I added a bottle of beer, a can of basic tomato sauce, a few chopped chipotle's and a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce. I let that simmer covered for a good half hour and when I returned, it looked so good I really questioned adding any beans to it. But I figured I could always try this again and I might as well follow through with the plan. So I added two cans of dark red kidney beans, and simmered covered for another hour or so. After tasting the result I simply added kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and that's it. Here are some shots of the above process:
I'm glad to report my intuition of smoked beef in a chili was right on. Here are a few shots of the final bowl:
I was surprised by how little seasoning it needed other than the chipotle and of course the chili powder rub. I think it could have used a little more kick up front (as later advised by MP), so maybe some cayenne pepper, or perhaps a couple serrano peppers in the mix as well. And then I might increase the kidney bean levels too (as later advised by PW)... I loved the meatiness of this chili, but it would benefit from a few more bites of beans to differentiate. And I'd like to try it without the ground beef entirely - i think it might be a more "natural" experience. There's something about ground beef that will always feel a bit too processed. Overall though I was very pleased with this first attempt at a smoked chili, and with Fall on the horizon I'm bound to attempt this a few more times... after all, chili competition season is just around the corner!
