Name: Award-Winning Dutch Oven Chili
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 12 people
Ingredients: 2 T Bacon Fat (or fat of your choice); 1 Medium Onion (chopped); 2 lbs Ground Beef; 5 Sweet Italian Sausage Links (removed from casing); 2 T Worcestershire Sauce; ¼ Brown Sugar; 1 8 oz Tomato Sauce; 2 Green Bell Peppers (chopped); 1 can Black Beans (drained & rinsed); 1 can Dark Red Kidney Beans (drained & rinsed); 1 T Ancho Chili Powder; 2 tsp Chili Powder; 1 T Onion Powder; 1 T Garlic Powder; 4 tsp Cumin; 1 T Smoked Paprika; 1 T Dried Oregano; 2 tsp Cocoa Powder; 2 tsp Redmond Real Sea Salt; 1 T Coriander

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Award-winning Dutch Oven Chili - kill it at your local chili cook-off!

Are you looking for that award-winning dutch oven chili that can win you all the praises at your next Chili Cook-off? Well then, you’ve come to the right place!

This pot of chili is bursting with delicious flavor and so many sources of protein! The way the recipe is written, it should be very kid-friendly but I can also give you some tips to kick it up a notch with spices and other ingredients to satisfy a spicier loving palate.

How to take this Award-Winning Dutch Oven Chili & kick it up a notch!

The beauty of this recipe is how versatile it is! You can really adjust it to what you have in the kitchen and make something super tasty!

Add different proteins!

I like to swap part or all of my ground beef with leftovers of my Prime Rib chopped up
Do you have leftover Brisket? Chop that up and throw it in
Extra bacon? Go ahead, throw that in too!
Sometimes I swap the ground beef for ground turkey to lighten it up a little

For spicier chili:

Swap the Sweet Italian Sausage for a Hot Italian Sausage
Add some diced jalapeños
Add 1/2 tsp of Cheyanne Pepper to the Chili Seasoning

Extra pantry & veggie add-ins

Fire Roasted diced tomatoes are a tasty addition and one I do often.
Corn (fresh, canned or frozen)
Any type of canned bean is great
Peppers: I love a good roasted Hatch chili added into my chili
Diced Sweet Potatoes – they add a delicious sweetness and texture to the chili
Beef Broth/ tomato sauce – this chili is pretty thick if you want to thin it out, add some to your liking

How to adjust seasonings “to taste”

Here are some tips on how to adjust flavors to your preference. Cooking is never a perfect science, so learning how to adjust seasonings to get the flavors you want is a very important step to mastering cooking skills

Salt – typically when tasting to see if the flavor is right, I always start with salt. Especially when I am not sure what it needs, besides the feeling “it just needs something”. Always use good salt, like Redmond Real Salt
Chili powder/ cumin – this is my next go to if, it feels slightly bland – like it needs to taste chili more
Brown Sugar – if it is tasting too spicy or too acidic, try adding brown sugar, this helps counteract the acidic or spiciness you are tasting
Worchestershire Sauce – if it is lacking Umami flavor (its a savory type of taste) add some more Worcestershire sauce

Award-Winning Dutch Oven Chili

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Course: holiday recipes, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: camping, Chili, soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: people

Calories: 402.7kcal

Author: sweetnsassyeats

Ingredients

2 T Bacon Fat or fat of your choice
1 Medium Onion chopped
2 lbs Ground Beef
5 Sweet Italian Sausage Links removed from casing
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
¼ Brown Sugar
1 8 oz Tomato Sauce
2 Green Bell Peppers chopped
1 can Black Beans drained & rinsed
1 can Dark Red Kidney Beans drained & rinsed

Chili Seasoning

1 T Ancho Chili Powder
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Garlic Powder
4 tsp Cumin
1 T Smoked Paprika
1 T Dried Oregano
2 tsp Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Redmond Real Sea Salt
1 T Coriander

Instructions

Heat cast iron dutch oven over medium/low heat 5-10 min.
Once heated add Bacon Fat and onions. Cook until tender
Add ground beef and sausage. Break up in pot & cook until almost fully cooked through
Add Chili Seasoning, Worcestershire Sauce, Brown Sugar & Tomato Sauce
Simmer 5 min
Add Green Bell Peppers and beans.
Stir and simmer on low for 15 min, stirring occasionally (I sometimes do this step on my smoker uncovered, stirring occasionally and simmer for 30+ minutes)
Spoon into bowls and top with your favorite chili toppings like cheese, green onions & sour cream. I love to serve it with a side of my Sweet Skillet Corn Bread

Nutrition

My favorite tools & ingredients for Chili

Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Redmond Real Salt {use code SWEETNSASSYEATS to save 15%}