You can stop looking for the best chili recipe now. You just found it. Well, you found the base of it, anyway. What really makes this slow cooker chili the best is the addition of whatever customizations you add to it, whether it be a little extra spice with a your favourite chopped hot pepper, or even a splash of a stout beer or red wine for a little extra depth. We’re not going to tell you how to customize it – that’s up to you. But we will share our Test Kitchen’s most trusted, tried-and-true, Hamilton-Beach-employee-favourite chili con carne recipe. We’ll get you started with the basics, and then you can drive this chili bus home.
When you test as many slow cookers as we do, you need a recipe that’s easily made but still puts the performance of the appliance through the ringer. Chili does just that, from ensuring a consistent temperature throughout to the level of doneness of the vegetables and beans. Mushy, overdone peppers and onions will certainly stamp your ticket to chili cook-off loserville.
This recipe includes hot Italian sausage as well as ground beef. Hey, this is chili con carne, right? The more carne, the better. The sausage adds a little smack of spice and flavour to an otherwise basic chili.
Needless to say, there’s a lot of chili making going on behind the scenes here at Hamilton Beach. This particular recipe has proven to be our favourite!
- 2 pounds hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large green pepper, cubed
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 packages (about 2 ounces each) chili seasoning
- 2 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, drained
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- Shredded cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos, sour cream, if desired
- Crumble sausage and ground beef into a large skillet. Over medium-high heat, brown sausage and ground beef. Drain fat.
- Add garlic, green pepper, onion and jalapeno to meat mixture and cook until onion is softened. Transfer meat and onion mixture to slow cooker crock.
- Add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos and sour cream, if desired.
Serves 10
For the cook who is busy all day but wants a home-cooked dinner at night, a slow cooker is the answer. And with the Set & Forget® Programmable Slow Cooker, technology takes a big leap forward from the outdated slow cookers found in yesterday’s kitchens.
TAGS: chili, game day, slow cooker
CATEGORIES: Everyday Recipes, From the Test Kitchen, main courses
