Chorizo Chili

I will be talking about a Chrizo Chili, but first I want to share a little bit about my 4th of July.  Once again, the party we threw this year was a lot of fun.   We typically have friends over, bbq, drink, and set off fireworks when it gets dark.  This year, like many years in the Bakersfield area, it was about 108 degrees this 4th of July.  HOT!  We were all melting, so when we went to pick up some fireworks, we also picked up some water guns and a pirate ship kiddie pool…of course.  This is what a 4th of July looks like with my family.  Did I mention that there also has to be lots of balloons?  ALWAYS!

One of our friends brought over some chili with chorizo in it.  Everyone was munching on it all day, and my husband requested the recipe.  We made it at home last week, and it was so yummy, that I had to share it.  The chorizo gives the chili a lot of flavor, but the bacon and sausage don’t hurt either.  (In case you don’t know what chorizo is, it is a Mexican sausage that is full of spices and chilies.)

First you need to crisp the bacon, brown the sausage, and cook the chorizo one at a time.  The fond (or brown bits at the bottom) will accumulate along with some oil with every meat group you cook.  Then the onions and green bell pepper gets sauteed and softened in the oil and bits left behind.  Add the beans and meat back in, and vuala!  Chili!

Lessons Learned:

• Chrizo will give off lots of oil.
• Buy the chrizo behind the meat counter if they got it.  The stuff in the package isn’t as good.
• Brown meats separately because they each have a different cooking/crisping time.

Chrizo Chili

Ingredients:

• 6 strips of bacon, chopped
• 3 oz sausage or hot dog, cut in half circle slices
• 12 oz chorizo
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 medium green bell peppers, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb dried beans, cooked
• salt to taste
• water or bean liquid to thin out (about 1 1/2 cups)

Instructions:

• Heat large pot.  Add bacon.  Cook until crispy, then remove bacon and set aside, leaving the oil in the pan.
• Add the sausage to the pot.  Brown the sausage on both sides.  About 5 minutes each side.  Remove the sausage and set aside, leaving the oil in the pan.
• Remove the chorizo from the casing, and add to the pot.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes until cooked thoroughly.
• When chorizo is cooked through, remove from pot and set aside.  Drain oil from the pot except for 3 Tbsp.
• Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot.  While they are cooking, start scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the brown bits from the bottom.  The moisture coming out of the onion and bell pepper will help loosen it.  When the onions are soft and translucent, add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
• Add in the beans, bacon, sausage, and chorizo.  Add water as necessary to thin out the chili.  Add salt to taste (the chorizo and bacon will add lots of salt to the dish, so make sure to taste it!)
• Simmer everything together for about 15 minutes so that the flavors meld together.  Serve hot and enjoy!