Touchdown Chili

  3.9 – 15 reviews  • Sausage Recipes
This is a chili I’ve been making every year during football season since I was 10. Depending on the year, the heat of the chili changed. It all depends on the people I was serving. I totally made up this chili recipe as a kid, putting in it what I thought would taste good. Little has been added or changed throughout the years. It is requested by family and friends that I make this chili at least 4 times during the season. I’ve never had a name for it, but at one time, when it was its hottest ever, we termed it “Liquid Evil.” Figured “Touchdown Chili” is good enough for now. As you’ll be able to tell from the recipe, it makes about 8 quarts. A bit of a secret: I serve a piece or two of chocolate with the chili. Have never found anything better to sooth a scortched tongue.

Ingredients

  1. 1 lb Chorizo, removed from casing
  2. 1 lb Hot Italian Sausage, removed from casing
  3. 1 lb Chuck, cut into bite-size pieces
  4. 2 lb Hickory-smoked bacon
  5. 10 Habenero peppers
  6. 5 Scotch Bonnet peppers
  7. 10 Jalepeno peppers
  8. 4 Poblano peppers
  9. 4 Banana peppers
  10. 4 Anaheim peppers
  11. 2 cans chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  12. 2 large onions
  13. 10 cloves of garlic
  14. 2 bottles Negro Mordelo
  15. 2 cups Quervo 1800
  16. 2 cups Wild Turkey
  17. 2 large cans tomato paste
  18. 1 large can tomato sauce
  19. 2 cans Rotelle Extra Hot diced tomatoes
  20. 2 cans kidney beans
  21. 1 can black beans
  22. 1 can pinto beans
  23. 1 can navy/great northern bean
  24. 1 can garbanzo
  25. 1 bar dark bakers’ chocolate
  26. 1/4 cup chili powder
  27. 1/4 cup cumin
  28. 1/4 cup basil
  29. 1/4 cup oregano
  30. Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the spices and the liquid ingredients (beer, tequila, whiskey, tomato past and sauce) to an 8 quart pot. Slowly bring to a boil. 
  2. Dice the bacon and fry until softened and the fat begins to render. Add the bacon and the bacon fat to the pot. Brown the Chorizo, sausage and chuck in a large pan, drain and add to the pot. Slowly bring to a boil again. 
  3. For the peppers, remove the caps and ends, halve lengthwise and slice about 1/4 inch thick. Peal and crush the garlic cloves. Drain the beans. Dice the onions, then add the peppers, garlic, beans and onion to the pot. Reduce the heat, and slowly rise to, once again, bring to a slow boil, with a the lid only partially convering the pot. Taste adjust salt and pepper if neccessary. 
  4. After about an hour, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate then add to the pot. Again, bring to a slow boil. This time, reduce to head to a simmer and let cook for another 3 hours. 
  5. I serve plain or over rice, with chocolate treats to ease the heat.

Reviews

Cheryl Oconnor
too many ingredients and very spicy. The best chili recipe is the 30 Minute Chili that has fewer ingredients
Harold Rodriguez
This is a very spicy chili. I have made it several times. Be careful with the chills and don’t use the seeds and veins if you want the majority of chili heads to eat it. I have used various dark beers and the flavor comes out just fine. be careful with the peppers I have used the stated amounts and have had different heat results every time from unbearably hot to perfectly hot.
Kelly Miller
I made this for a potluck dinner party where all of the food had to be prepared with chocolate. I cut WAY back on the peppers (using 2 habaneros, 6 jalapenos, 3 anahiem, and only one can of chipotle peppers and it was still SUPER spicy! For the meat, I used the bacon and italian sausage, but subbed ground turkey for the rest. Instead of the Negro Modelo, I used the Kona Brewing Co’s Pipeline Porter because I thought the coffee flavor would add a nice depth. I also added about 4 tbsp of cocoa powder to kick up the rich, chocolate undertone of the chili. I omitted the other alcohol just because I didn’t want the chili to bee too thin. Instead of cooking the chili on the stovetop, I browned the meats and then just threw everything in the crock pot on low for the whole afternoon. The chili was a hit, but I am pretty sure that if I had used the amount of peppers the recipe calls for, that nobody would have touched it, so I can only give it three stars.
Sonia Wallace
too many ingredients, what 10 year old knows what half of these ingredients are, what 10 year old has access to that much alchohol….please
Christopher Downs
I too made this thing years ago. I was fascinated by the booze and the beans and peppers. Made it for a bunch of Cub Scouts to put on hot dogs. Cut out all but one or two habaneros; eliminated the scotch bonnet peppers but substituted a jar of Jamaican Jerk seasoning. Changed the Rotel to mild instead of Hot, etc., etc. etc. Stuff was still so hot no one but me would eat it. I’m glad the recipe is still floating around, but it’s more of a cool name and idea rather than real food.
Margaret Andrews
I’ve made this chili many times and with several variations. I love it hot, but hubby found the original recipe too much, even though I’d cut back on the habeneros. What I’ve found is it’s the chipoltes that seem to put the heat over the top, at least for us. Instead of addng 2 full cans of peppers and the adobo sauce, I only add one can’s worth of the adobo.sauce – and no peppers. I’ve tried it with only 1 can of peppers, only a couple of peppers – and it’s the peppers pureed that are throwing all the heat. That said, now I follow the recipe almost to the letter, depending on the availability of the peppers. Usually I do more japelenos then habeneros, and also add a jar of strained banana peppers. I serve with tortilla chips – it’s my all time favorite chili.
Ryan Smith
It’s an awesome recipe that like some others, have toned down some. Usually only use 4-5 of of the peppers; add ground beef to the meats; add some SoCo to the alcohol; and last but not least, some maple syrup along with the bakers chocolate, helps balance out the heat.
Elizabeth Butler
Yes it’s hot … but it mellows with cooking time. This is the type of chili that when you take a bite your first reaction is.. “too hot” but you still want more, and before you know it you will have consumed two bowls of this too hot chili.

I leave out the beans and add pork, usually a pork roast (butt) and more beef roast. After browining meat (and removing) I cook onions and garlic and then add the alcohol and boil for several minutes before adding back in the meat and t sauce. This mellows the alcohol flavor (my preference).

Try cutting back on habaneros to five and adding less chipotle if you really don’t want all the heat. I woudn’t leave out the Chipotle entirely as it does prove a disticitive flavor.

Hunter Davis
I substituted Turkey bacon, sausage, etc with fantastic lower fat results. This is a chili with lots of flavor-levels, so don’t expect your run of the mill chili taste. Also, I halfed the peppers so not to burn my guests faces off.
Mary Ward
Made this for a homecoming party at my house. I cut out the Habanero and Scotch Bonnett peppers, and cut the Aneheim Hot peppers by half. I also seeded the peppers to reduce the intense hot flavor. Even with everything else in it, this chili was way too hot for each and every one of my friends. We ended up ordering pizza. I must admit, though, that if you could get through the crazy heat this has (I used peanut butter on bread), the chili has a good taste to it. I think with a little tinkering this recipe could be a good one, which is why I still give it three out of five stars.

 

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