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Cornbread and Chili – this is my go-to recipe for chili and cornbread and they go so well together! Not too spicy or salty – spice level is medium!! Perfect recipe for this fall weather that is about to start happening! You can make this with ground turkey or a mix of ground beef. I also have steps in here to eliminate the grease that chili is known for. This recipe has a couple unusual ingredients, but they will not let you down!! 4 ounces of chocolate and 1 bottle of beer!!! This makes a lot of chili and you can freeze some of it for later!!! The cornbread recipe is for a moist sweet cornbread – not the dry kind.
Chili Ingredients
4-5 Pounds of Ground Turkey, Beef or Sausage
2 t Worcestershire Sauce
2 Small Onions, Diced
1 Green or Red Pepper, Diced
1 t minced garlic
1 bottle beer
2 or 3 28 lunch cans tomato sauce
4 ounces baking chocolate (semi-sweet or bitter sweet)
2 T Chili Powder
1 t Cumin Powder
Steps for Chili:
In a dutch oven, sautĂ© Ground Turkey, Beef, Sausage with a little oil until brown – I like to use a potato masher, but then add some chunks later so there are bigger pieces – add Worcestershire sauce while browning. Remove meat from dutch oven and let browned meat stand on paper towels (this keeps the chili from being greasy). In the same dutch oven, sautĂ© diced onions and green peppers. Add chili powder and cumin, sautĂ©ed a few more minutes. Add minced garlic and sautĂ© another minute. Add beer and stir. Add 2 cans of tomato sauce and stir. Add the browned meat back into the pot and stir. If you want, add a third can or a third can of diced tomatoes if you like it chunky. Add 4 ounces of chocolate and let it melt in the pot, stir into the mixture. Chocolate gives the chili a great flavor and consistency but it won’t taste like candy!!!! Taste the chili and adjust seasonings. I have not added salt as an ingredient here because the tomatoes and the chili powder have sodium already. But adjust to your taste! You may also want to add more chili powder. As a last step, add the beans (optional) to the chili – cover and simmer for at least three more hours. This chili tastes better to me the next day! I store in containers in the fridge after cooling. I also put several in the freezer. This freezes and reheats very well. Serve with pasta, rice or alone. Garnish with cheese, fritos, sour cream, chopped onions. You can also use this in Chili Mac!!!!
Steps for Cornbread:
This recipe makes a sweet and moist cornbread – you can cut back on the butter if you like a dryer version. If you want a cornbread that is NOT sweet, there are better recipes out there!
1 C Yellow Corn Meal
1 C All Purpose Flour
1 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/2 C Butter
1/3 Brown Sugar
2 T Honey
1 Egg
1 Cup Buttermilk (or make buttermilk with 1 cup milk and 1 teaspoon white vinegar)
Optional : shredded cheese, diced jalapeños
Mix all dry ingredients. Mix cooled butter, brown sugar, 2 T honey, egg in a separate bowl. Add buttermilk and stir. Keep separate until ready to bake!
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 8×8 pan or a skillet.
When ready to bake, add liquid to dry ingredients and stir with spatula. Immediately pour into pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cornbread will be golden brown and firm in the middle (not soft). Let cool for 20 minutes. Brush with butter before serving.