Super-Duper Chili

November arrived the way it does up here — no announcement, just a fact. The last of the leaves came down in a night of wind and by morning the hills were brown and gray and the sky had that low white ceiling that means snow is a question of when, not if. I find November easier than most people seem to. The reduction of everything to its essential form — bare branches, short days, the world stripped to its skeleton — suits me.

I've been spending more evenings in the shop behind the barn. Not working, exactly — just tinkering, which is different. Going over tools, organizing what needs organizing, making repairs that are more about the ritual of attention than about actual necessity. The shop was Dad's first. He built most of it himself in the early 1980s, a mix of salvaged lumber and new materials, nothing perfectly square but all of it solid. I took it over gradually as I got into the farrier work and now it's mostly mine, though his handprints are still in the workbench.

The chili has been in rotation twice since I made it. The second batch I made with a slightly smaller proportion of guajillo to ancho — wanted to check that the guajillo smokiness wasn't doing too much work — and I think the original ratio was right. Filed that in the notebook as confirmed. There's a specificity to getting a recipe locked down that feels like finishing a piece of furniture: sanding the last surface smooth and running your hand over it and knowing nothing else needs doing. That specific satisfaction.

Working on an essay about the idea of place. About what it means to stay in a place your whole life versus leaving it, and what each choice costs and offers. No particular rush on it. Some essays know when they're ready and some need to sit. This one is sitting.

The second batch confirmed what I suspected after the first: the original guajillo-to-ancho ratio was right, and the recipe didn’t need any more adjusting. I wrote “confirmed” next to it in the notebook and that was that — same feeling as running your hand over the final surface of a piece of furniture and knowing nothing else needs doing. The chili I keep coming back to is this one: deep, layered, built for the kind of evening where the shop is warm and the wind is working outside and you don’t need anything else from the night.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 lbs ground elk (or beef), browned and drained
1 lb bulk pork sausage, browned and drained
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz each) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup beef broth
3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and toasted
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and toasted
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Rehydrate the chiles. Place toasted guajillo and ancho chiles in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let soak 15 minutes until softened, then blend with 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid until smooth. Set aside.
Brown the meat. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the ground elk and sausage in batches, breaking up the meat. Drain off excess fat and set meat aside.
Sweat the aromatics. In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook 6–8 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Build the base. Return the meat to the pot. Stir in the chile paste, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and beef broth. Mix well.
Season. Add chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine thoroughly.
Simmer. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover partially and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens and the flavors deepen.
Add beans and finish. Stir in kidney beans and simmer uncovered an additional 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with cornbread, shredded cheddar, or sour cream as desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Super-Duper Chili — The Batch That Finally Got Locked Down