Flavorful and tasty, this is not your typical red chili.
Ingredients
- 3 limes (including zest)
- 1/2 cup tequila
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 lb great northern beans (3 16-oz cans will work ok if you don’t want to use dry beans)
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 large onions chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 (4 oz) cans of green chiles
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 cups defatted chicken stock (canned will work all right)
- 3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
- Sour cream
- Chopped fresh green onions
Instructions
- If using dry beans, pick over the beans and rinse them. Cover beans with water by at least 3 inches and soak the beans for 24 hours. Change the water 1 time about 12 hours after the soaking process starts.
- Remove fat and tendons from the chicken and place the chicken breast in a container that can be covered. Zest 1 of the limes and sprinkle the lime zest over the chicken breast. Using a lemon reamer, juice all 3 limes and pour the juice over the chicken breast. Pour the tequila over the chicken and add 1 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Sprinkle red pepper flakes over the chicken and marinate for 3 hours.
- Heat olive oil in stock pot and add onion and saute for about 10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, green chilis, cumin, cayene pepper, and cloves and saute for 10 minutes.
- Add beans and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. (If using canned beans, complete step 5 below and then add the cooked chicken and reduce simmering time.)
- Heat grill after the chili has simmered for about 2 hours. Grill the chicken breast for 5 minutes and pour remaining marinade over the chicken breast on the grill. Turn the chicken breast and grill the second side for 4 minutes. Remove the chicken breast from the grill and cut into small cubes.
- Add the cubed chicken and 1 cup of cheese to the chili and stir until the cheese melts.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with remaining cheese, chopped green onions, and sour cream. Salt to taste.
Reviews
Never done this with beans from scratch, but canned beans work well. I also add a couple cans of white hominy, leave out the cheese until serving, and add a heavy splash of cream or half/half. This is sooo good! I make it once or twice during the winter and freeze leftovers. My husband, who doesn’t like chicken, even loves this stuff! I’m making it tonight!!
I won a chili cook-off with this recipe! I’ve made it many times, and it’s always a hit!
This has been my go-to chili recipe for about 10 years. I’ve never served it to a group of people without everyone demanding the recipe. My husband is weird for it, and it just never gets olds. The cloves are the recipe’s secret power, in my opinion. I used canned beans and half the chicken stock, but I’m sure dried beans would be better.
Highly recommended to take the time to make the beans from scratch. The hungry people in our house who couldn’t wait for the chicken to come off of the grill unanimously agreed that the beans by themselves were fabulous on their own. Will definitely make this again, but will probably serve the grilled chicken separately.
We’ve made this recipe at least 5 times, and its absolutely yummy. I follow it pretty closely – probably don’t use quite as much cheese as called for. And I’ve made a veggie version with tofu and soy burger in place of the chicken, and that works out well too.