This kimchi is a wonderful traditional Korean dish and is vegetarian. Unlike other kimchi recipes that use sugar, the sweetness in this dish comes from natural ingredients like persimmon and cucumber. It tastes fantastic and has the right amount of heat.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 14 |
Ingredients
- ¼ cup bacon grease (see notes)
- 1 ½ pounds boneless beef round steak, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
- 1 ½ pounds beef sirloin steak, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
- 1 ½ cups onion soup, prepared from a packet of dry onion soup mix
- 3 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup cola soft drink (such as Coke®)
- 1 tablespoon yellow sport pepper sauce (such as Texas Petes’s®)
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Place bacon grease into a large stainless steel soup pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir cubed round and sirloin steak meat in hot bacon grease until well browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in onion soup and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes, stirring to dissolve any browned flavor bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in kidney beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in cola, pepper sauce, and cocoa. Simmer until flavors blend, about 20 more minutes. Serve hot.
- Place steaks in the freezer for about 15 minutes before cutting. This helps firm up the meat, making it easier to slice.
- Use regular cola, not diet or caffeine-free.
- You can serve chili immediately, but for best results, transfer to a slow cooker pot and chill for 8 hours to overnight and up to 48 hours. When ready to serve, heat in a covered slow cooker on High for about 3 hours; then set to Low for serving.
- : Cook about 4 slices bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Save cooked bacon for another use. Retain about 1/4 cup bacon grease; discard the rest, if any.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 305 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 69 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 710 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This Chili is so good. It’s not hard to believe it won 12 chili cook offs. It reminded me of my favorite chili from the Texas Roadhouse…yummy
3 stars. Did not care for the chunks of meat. turned out to be more like a stew. I followed the directions exactly and won’t be using this in my upcoming chili cook off.
Really good stuff Chris
Good recipe. Nice flavor
Sounded great, but then I read the “Texas Pete” sauce and knew it is a thumbs up
Good recipe to start with. I then added fresh garlic, one diced onion, diced red pepper and fine diced two jalapeño peppers. I’ve used chocolate before but this was the first time I’ve ever added Coke, it worked out well. The beef I used was a prime rib roast that I trimmed and diced. I had about four pounds left from a sixteen pound roast I made at the firehouse. The end product turned out very well.
WON ANOTHER CHILI COOKOFF AT MY CHURCH HAHA I SHOWED YOU JP will make again multiple times a year
Awesome taste with the first bowl. Can’t wait until the flavors meld more. The only thing I didn’t have was the Texas Pete yellow sauce. I will have to look for it for the next time I make this. What I used in place was regular Tabasco. Thank you Chris for the fantastic award winning recipe.
Amazing! Best chili I’ve ever made!
I am a huge fan of Dennison’s chili (which they don’t sell in Texas) and Steak ‘n Shake chili. This is the best recipe to those. The paste and tomato measurements are perfect to have it be more stew and chili like than overly tomato-y. I did a few substitutions my second time making it ONLY to fit my personal preferences. I swapped out the kidney beans for pinto beans and added two extra cans of beans. The recipe didn’t specify whether to drain the cans or not so the second time around I drained all the liquid to make it thicker. I also used all ground beef instead and no hot sauce to make it easy on my toddler (both for texture and flavor). With the extra beans I did have to add some garlic salt and extra chili powder but it’s still great. Hands down the best recipe, and super simple to adjust to fit your preferences. I highly recommend following it to the letter the first time and then making changes on your second round (because you’ll want it again).
Its fine. That’s it. Just simply ‘Fine’. Honestly cant believe it has won 12 chili contests as the flavor was VERY BLAND. Had virtually no chili taste, but you do get the grit of the cocoa powder in your mouth. I’ve won numerous chili contests with varying recipes and always on the lookout for the next big thing, but would not enter this one. But then if you have ever entered a contest you realize how many horrible cooks are out there.
Made this this for family dinner, used dry beans instead of canned, had to look up the right ratio of canned to dry , had to sub catsup for tomato sauce, and cream soda for coke, and tweek the chili powder and salt, added garlic powder (because I think the catsup made it kinda sweet) Best chili ever. Also used T-bone steak and hamburger. Used what I had on hand. Next time I will follow to a tee, but don’t know if it could get any better, we will see,this is a keeper. Thank You!!
By far my favourite chili. It’s pricey to make but very worth it. From one Chris to another, thanks.
I have made this about three times for various family functions and it always was gone very quickly. I skipped making it on one occasion and it ruined the party! I have now been instructed to ALWAYS bring the “great ” chili. Thank you for the recipe. It is a huge hit.
I followed the recipe, except I just used chuck since it’s cheaper. Also, throw the bacon in with the meat…you won’t regret it! Oh, and I drained one can of beans before I realized that I wasn’t supposed to. I don’t think I needed that extra liquid so I’ll probably do that again next time. And there WILL be a next time! Loved it! Serve with cornbread (Grandmother’s Buttermilk Cornbread is my favorite).
I don’t see how anyone is getting steak n shake chili vibes from this recipe. it doesnt taste like it at all. it’s a good recipe, but not what I was looking for
So delicious and def reminded me of SteakNShake! I did almost 2 lbs of meat, but we are a meat loving fam. Also in the slowcooker. Started with beans/sauce/seasonings on low for 4 hours then followed the directions on cooking meat and added to the beans along with the coke and cocoa powder. Was great to use for Chili Dogs too. I do not like a thick chili, this was perfect in between. Will make again the whole fam loved it!
AMAZING!!!!!
Replaced the beef with venison. Otherwise followed the recipe. Made it a few days ahead for a holiday get together and then put it in the crock pot the day of. Delicious. Will definitely make again.
Made almost exactly like the recipe with just a couple changes for personal preference. I used 2 lbs round steak and 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, I replaced one can of kidney beans with chili beans and came close to doubling the soda. Also didn’t add the extra hot sauce at the end. This was the best chili I’ve ever made, thank you Chris!
I’ve made this recipe probably twice a year for the past four or 5 years, I use NY steak instead of sirloin because I buy NY roasts and cut my own steaks, but other than that I follow the recipe to a tee. this is a great recipe..