Howdy everyone! It’s been awhile hasn’t it? While all of you have been busy watching the games, gambling maniacally and consuming vats of frosty adult beverages I’ve been working away in the Sunday Gravy test kitchen in anticipation of another season of Sunday Gravy!

This isn’t technically the start of the new season, that will be in two weeks, this is a SPECIAL edition of Sunday Gravy to give you some ideas for food consumption for next week’s game. I’m just goddamn thoughtful like that.

Since the last game of the year is next week I figured I could be actually, you know, fucking proactive and give you some food ideas BEFORE the game itself.

Radical concept I know!

When hosting for the Superb Owl you should have something hearty, delicious, perhaps spicy – the better to consume beers with – and something that will satisfy a group of people.

Something like a batch of chili.

I’m going to be linking to a lot of my previous versions of chili but I also have a brand new recipe for you today that is as close to a nice basic all American gatdamn chili recipe as I’ve ever done. And that motherfucker is some tasty shit.

When Sunday Gravy began back in the primordial dawn of 2015 I had no idea just how many different chili recipes I was going to post. Turns out I posted a fuckton of chili recipes over the next several years.

There should be a little something for every taste.

My very first post ever featured quite possibly my favorite culinary secret weapon and my very own private addiction.

Chile tepin!

I was quite pathetic with my disturbing lack of visual imagery back in the day so I figured to correct that retroactively.

Here’s a very recent photo of a batch of the glorious all purpose salsa/chile/condiment and what it should look like.

Goddamn beautiful isn’t it?

In no particular order, here are the other recipes.

Feeling like a basic beef-based chili may be a little too heavy for your guests?

Try out this bad boy.

That’s a really delicious Chicken Chili. 

And it’s fucking lovely.

We’ve also done Texas chili. A lot.

This was from one of my first recipes ever and it is your slow simmered version of a Texas style chili.

What? Too time consuming? Need to figure out a quicker preparation?

We got that too!

Does it turn out a delicious product?

Bet your ass it does!

Maybe you’re a fan of the oh-so-delicious pig. Which I definitely am. Perhaps a nice green chile  verde instead?

Oh shit kids, that fucker was delightful.

If you remember my most recent Sunday Gravy, after losing a bet to Red Shirt we even have some of this.

Some Cincinnati 5 way chili!

We’ve got all of your chili based needs taken care of right ‘chere!

Without giving you the idea that this post exists strictly as a link dump to previous recipes, I am also going to present you with a brand new, original, authentic, All American Chili recipe! And fuck it! let’s make some cornbread while we’re at it!

I had some comments on my original Texas chili post that got into the God awful “Beans vs No Beans” debate.

Jesus Christ.

You can have both! Texas chili in my opinion doesn’t have nor need beans. There is nothing wrong with that! This chili here today HAS BEANS! And there’s nothing wrong with that either.

But is it a sandwich!?!?

Get the fuck out of here with that shit!

 

American Style chili

1 pound of ground beef

1 pound top sirloin steak

4 slices of bacon

(1) 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes – diced

(1) 6 oz can of tomato paste

(2) 14 oz cans of kidney beans

(1) 12 ounce dark beer – I used a Newcastle

1 onion chopped

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 pasilla pepper – fire roasted

3 jalapenos – fire roasted

3 serrano peppers – fire roasted

3 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of cayenne

1 teaspoon dried oregano – Mexican oregano works great for this recipe.

1 teaspoon of dry mustard

1/2 tablespoon of salt.

Bunch of grinds of black pepper

Let’s fire this fucker up!

Jalapenos on the left, pasilla in the center and serranos on the right. Let’s go ahead and fire roast these sumbitches.

It’s a shitload easier to accomplish if you have a gas stove. Fire roast the peppers until a nice char develops, then place them in a paper bag for a few minutes to loosen the charred skin and it should peel right off. Chop them up, remove the seeds and set aside.

Next let’s take a look at the hardware.

There’s our can of diced tomatoes, you may notice that the tomatoes are fire-roasted too. You kiddin’ me? We got a theme here! In addition we also have the tomato paste and the 2 cans of kidney beans.

Now here’s the software or meat action.

I originally wanted to use short ribs but the damn store was out of them, the bastards. I dropped back to punt and picked up the top sirloin instead. It did not turn out to be a bad choice. Cut the sirloin up into cubes and set aside. We’re going to season the pan before we start searing the meat. How will we season?

By cooking up some damn bacon.

When the bacon has gotten crispy, remove it from the pan and now we’re going to sear the steak chunks in the bacon grease. OH BOY! Let’s season the steak first by tossing it with salt, pepper and chili powder, about a teaspoon of each.

Sear the steak until nicely browned in the bacon grease, about 5 minutes per side, remove with a slotted spoon and set to the side.

Next we are going to add our diced chilies shown here

to the pot along with the onion. Cook for a few minutes.

Next to the pot party is the garlic and the hamburger meat. Cook this until the ground beef is browned.

Once the beef has been browned, you can choose to drain the grease or just be all fucking savage-like and leave the grease in the pot.

Like I did.

In goes the various cans of hardware.

Add the cubed steak back to the pot, crumble up the cooked bacon, add the spices and the beer and get it in there too. Then let this motherfucker go for about 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours, stirring every so often. We want to cook this until the chunks of sirloin start breaking down and integrating into the chili. This is what she looks like after 3 hours and 15 minutes.

God. DAMN!

See how the sirloin is starting to get fall apart tender and everything is becoming the sum of it’s parts? That’s what we want right there.

You know what this meal needs? Some damn cornbread that’s what! And since it’s a special occasion let’s gussie it up a bit.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread!

1. 1 cup Albers® White or Yellow Corn Meal *
2. 1 cup all-purpose flour
3. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
4. 1 Tbsp. baking powder
5. 1 tsp. salt
6. 1 cup milk
7. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
8. 1 large egg, lightly beaten
9. 2 tablespoons of minced pickled jalapeno
10. some small chunks of extra sharp cheddar cheese – I used aged English cheddar

obviously the base of this recipe comes from the back of the box of Albers cornmeal.

The trick to cornbread assemblage is to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately.

Here’s the dry – the corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Add the jalapenos to the wet ingredients – the milk, oil and beaten egg –  like this.

Then we mix them together.

Next pour the batter into a greased cooking vessel. I like my ceramic dish here since it allows the cornbread to come out nice and tall. Flat cornbread is bullshit.

Remember the key to good cornbread consistency is mix until JUST combined. Don’t over mix or you run the risk of having your cornbread fall apart into crumbs. Notice there is still a little dry flour in that picture.

When adding the cheese I prefer to add little chunks directly into the mixed batter rather than mixing along with the other ingredients. Like this.

This way you get some little sexy cheese pockets in the finished cornbread.

400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Look at this sexiness when done.

If you enlarge the photo you can see those little molten cheese pockets. That’s the good shit.

Cut a big’ol wedge of cornbread.

Hell you don’t even need to add butter but you’re more than welcome to if you like.

Get yerself some of that chili in a bowl and garnish accordingly.

Just some shredded cheddar for me today. You sure as hell could add some finely minced onion right here, red onion would be a really nice touch or you could add some sour cream, cilantro or some crumbled corn chips. Customize!

Grab about 11 ice cold beers and set yourself up a damn eating station.

Get some.

This recipe will turn any “no beans” chili snob into a bean eating motherfucker. It’s rich, meaty, a solid spice kick. You can add as much or as little cayenne as you want. Just be sure to know your audience before you blow Little Juniors head off with heat. It is adaptable. It’s customizable. It’s just. Fucking. Delicious.

There you go kids! All the chili inspiration you need for next week’s game.

Just remember, next week? We’re all Rams fans!

See you in 2 weeks for the season premier of Sunday Gravy!

PEACE!