In this chili, the smokiness of the bacon and liquid smoke balances off the heat of the chorizo and the sweetness of the chocolate. This chili gets better the next day, just like any other chili. Serve with some chocolate shavings or a dollop of cilantro sour cream.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 50 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 12 quarts |
Ingredients
- 1 pound hickory-smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 pounds chorizo sausage, chopped
- 3 pounds ground sirloin
- 2 (29 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (28 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
- 3 teaspoons garlic juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
- 4 (15.25 ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained
- 2 (15.25 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Brown bacon in the hot pot until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain and set bacon aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and add chorizo; cook and stir until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Cook and stir ground sirloin in the same pot over medium-high heat until browned, crumbly, and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain the grease. Add the bacon and chorizo. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, onions, and Italian seasoning. Stir in chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, liquid smoke, garlic juice, and cinnamon.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and add jalapenos, kidney beans, black beans, and chocolate. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors are well blended, about 2 hours. Serve.
- This recipe was tweaked from another recipe on this site and has taken (4) first place prizes in chili cook-offs. The sweetness and spice makes people wonder what is different, setting you apart from the rest.
- You can use Great Northern beans instead of black beans.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 486 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 90 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 1511 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 26 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
The original recipe needs more heat; more chili powder, cumin, more Italian seasoning, and I added ground chipotle and ground ancho Chile for depth and tasty heat. I added another oz. of chocolate, which was good, and chopped up 2 poblano peppers. The whole thing is a thick delicious chili with tons of depth. Heads up – it takes about 2 hours to put together properly! It’s fun if you have the time!
Did this come from a restaurant? ha absolutely delicious. I used microwave bacon and did not use the sirloin meat. I didn’t have unsweetened chocolate, so you can make your own with cocoa powder and oil, who knew, that worked!. Thick and spicy. Thanks for this delicious chili recipe Caroline.
Absolutely delicious! I made a half recipe, but then regretted not making the full amount! Wasn’t sure about the “chorizo, chopped” – I’m assuming it is supposed to be Mexican chorizo, but that kind needs to be removed from the casing and cooked/crumbled in the pot, so that’s what I did. It can’t really be “chopped” before cooking. I didn’t have garlic juice on hand, so I just used 3 garlic cloves, minced. The only other changed I made was to add in the onions to the pot as the ground sirloin was almost done browning. The chorizo, cinnamon and chocolate really make this chili, so don’t leave them out! So much depth to the flavors. I can see why this recipe one so many chili cook-offs! Looking forward to leftovers!