Best Johns Chili Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S CINCINNATI-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Combine beef and tomato paste in a large pot. Rinse out the tomato paste can with a couple tablespoons of water and add to the pot with garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, sugar, and salt. Add apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and cold water. Mash and stir with a potato masher or a large whisk to break up the meat into fine pieces.
• Place the pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until flavors come together and chili reaches your desired thickness, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Taste chili and adjust seasoning. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle over spaghetti into serving bowls. Top with some onions and Cheddar cheese. Cut and scoop the noodles up with a fork like you're eating a casserole.

JOHN'S CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, orange bell pepper, onion, and celery. Cook until tender. Place pork and beef in the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
• Mix serrano chile peppers, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers, tomato paste, kidney beans, garlic, lime juice, tequila, and beer into the pot. Season with chili powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 5 hours.

DR. JOHNS' CHILI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, one pound at a time, over high heat together with the garlic and onions. If your skillet or wok is large enough, you can brown the beef all at once to save time. On the last batch, add the spices after the beef is browned and continue frying for another couple of minutes.
• Add the browned beef to a very large pot with a lid, and then add the beans, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and V8 juice. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. To make the cashew meal, process the cashews in a blender in short bursts, until a grainy meal is formed. Don't process for too long or you'll have cashew butter. Stir in the cashew meal, cover, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Makes 10 servings.

CHEF JOHN'S GREEN CHICKEN CHILI

Steps:

• Season chicken thighs with salt on both sides.
• Transfer 1/2 the chicken to a dry, nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl. Brown the rest of the chicken. Let cool to room temperature before cutting.
• Combine salsa verde, green chilies, garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro in a blender. Blend, starting on low and finishing on high, until sauce is very smooth and bright green.
• Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and transfer back into the bowl. Combine chicken pieces, accumulated juices, and the green sauce into a pot. Season with cumin, chipotle pepper, black pepper, oregano, and salt.
• Rinse out blender with a splash of water and pour into the pot. Mix together and set heat to medium-high. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until chicken is tender, depending on size of chicken pieces, about 1 hour. Stir in kidney beans and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S TURKEY CHILI

Steps:

• Mix the ancho chile powder, paprika, cumin, salt, chipotle pepper, oregano, cocoa powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground turkey and garlic. Cook and stir until turkey is no longer pink, breaking up any large chunks, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the spice mixture. Cook until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato puree and water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook until the turkey meat is broken down, about 1 hour. Stir in the beans, and continue to simmer until flavors have blended, 20 to 30 more minutes.

GREEN BAY CHILI

Steps:

• Make the chili: in a big skillet, saute/stir the onion in oil over med-high heat until soft.
• Add in beef; cook/stir until browned, separating meat so it remains crumbly rather than cloddish.
• Drain off excess fat; season with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco.
• Stir in barbecue sauce and simmer over med-low heat 5 minutes, stirring to mix.
• Make the spicy oil: Combine the oil with the chili powder, cumin, coriander, and cardamom.
• Heat mixture to a simmer in a small skillet; stir in the garlic and cook until soft.
• Stir half the spicy oil into the chili; reserve the remaining oil; keep the meat mixture warm.
• Cook the spaghetti until just tender; drain and toss with the butter and keep warm.
• Rinse the beans and place in a small saucepan; add 1/2 cup water and cook over medium heat until warm; drain well.
• To serve--arrange noodles on 4 to 6 plates; top each serving with beans and chopped onion.
• Ladle chili over all and add the reserved spicy oil to taste.
• Sprinkle toppings over, as desired.

CHEF JOHN'S ITALIAN SAUSAGE CHILI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, onion, and a pinch of salt together in the pot, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage is browned and crumbly, and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.
• Stir ancho chile powder, paprika, cumin, ground black pepper, chipotle chile powder, and oregano into sausage mixture; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Pour water and tomato puree into sausage mixture, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook on a steady simmer until sausage is tender, about 45 minutes. Add water as necessary and skim any fat that floats to the top.
• Stir cannellini beans, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper into sausage mixture. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt to taste.