Recipe: Beanless Cowboy Chili

I like beans as much as the next girl. But sometimes, when it comes to chili, the bean situation gets out of control. So as you might imagine, I was very pleased to see a recipe in our Nom Nom Paleo recipe book, a recipe for beanless chili.

Ingredients:

Chili

4 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 teaspoons kosher salt (

4 slices bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 medium yellow onion, cut into ½-inch dice

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons ancho chile powder

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 cup bone broth or chicken broth

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, shaved

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Juice from ½ small lime

Freshly ground black pepper

Lo Note: I didn’t add the chocolate because, frankly, I didn’t trust what that ingredient might do. Also, I had to add a can of diced tomatoes because there was a situation…more on that later.

Garnish

½ medium white onion, cut into ¼-inch dice

½ cup minced fresh cilantro

½ cup julienned radish

2 limes, cut into wedges

plain full-fat coconut yogurt

Lo Note: We didn’t ad the yogurt .cus we’re trying to get away from anything super creamy

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

2. Toss the beef with salt and set aside.

3. In a Dutch oven cook the bacon until brown and crispy.  Remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. Add the meat to the Dutch oven and brown on two sides.  Remove the beef and set aside.

5. Add the onions and tomato paste to the Dutch oven.  While it’s cooking combine the  ancho chile powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, and the broth in a small bowl or measuring cup. Mix til smooth then add the chocolate. When the onions are softened add the chocolate mixture and the garlic to the Dutch oven. Cook for 1 minute.

6. Stir in the bacon and beef, cover leaving the lid slightly ajar and place the chili in the oven for 3 hours.

Remove and serve over brown rice or zoodles.  Top with garnish.

A quick (or not so quick) note about the diced tomatoes that I had to add…I work two shifts at a yoga studio on Sundays.  One shift is dumb early and the other is around dinner time.  I decided to cook the chili in the break in between shifts.  But since I also decided to do drunk brunch my time was limited.  I had to leave the chili in the hands of my husband who was suffering from some 24-hour vile bug.  I asked him to just turn the oven off when the timer ended.  I didn’t want him to actually touch the food or take it out because he was sick.  Anyway, when I got home, the oven was still on and he was napping on the floor where I left him so yea the beef, though tender, was dry AF.  I ended up mixing in just a can of diced tomatoes to give it a little ‘wet’ and that proved to do the trick. 

Recipe inspiration found HERE.

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