The first time I ever gave my recipe away, I swear to you, I felt like I was giving away my first born child or something! And since I was never blessed with children, uhm, yeah, THIS WAS my “baby” I was giving away! I had worked on this recipe for 10+ years by that time.
It finally graduated and was ready for competition when I entered it for the very first time in my first chili cook-off back in Indiana. It was held in the middle of January, in a field, in a foot of icy snow, and the temps were 20+ below zero windchill. (Gotta love that Lake Michigan – “lake effect”- wish-you-were-dead-chill-factor.)
We arrived with what we thought was sufficient gear and all of our supplies. The skimpy canopy (with no sides) that took an hour to erect proved to provide nothing but an arctic-blast wind tunnel that suddenly took flight and became a four-pronged projectile flying half a football field’s length over into the nearby field where we swore we could hear the cows laughing.
Then several veteran, more-prepared, expert chili cook-off participants took pity on us and helped us stake it down better AND wrapped 3 of the sides for us in plastic to stop the wind. Yep. That’s what it’s all about folks. Teamwork and camaraderie!
Without their help, I never would’ve been able to even cook my chili, nor ever feel my toes or nose again.
But I had a BLAST! Our friends arrived shortly later to join us in the tapping of the keg…at 8am….free beer for all of the chili cooks! Which I was GRATEFUL for by that time, as I did not have to shoot myself in the head for getting myself into this in the first place and had been up since 3am anyways.
What the heck. Hand me a beer.
We all huddled around the warmth of that gloriously warm, deluxe, 2-burner, “antique” kerosine cooktop stove and let my chili simmer until we were drunk as monkeys.
We were having so much fun I totally forgot about not being able to feel my toes.
By the time the girls came around to collect the chili samples some 5 hours later, I swear I might’ve tried to order a shot of tequila and a pizza. I dunno, I was frozen delirious by then.
It was a fun day for all, though. An AMAZING day, actually!! One I will remember ’til the day I die kind of day!!
Everyone just shook hands, met, talked, shared stories, laughed and the chili cook-off bug bit me hard! I was hooked! “Hook, line ‘n sinker” as my dad used to say! This was fun beyond anything I’d ever seen or participated in!
Well, when we all had to bring our pots into the hall, needless to say, I was a WRECK of nerves! It had been a LONG, BRUTALLY cold day, and I was dang tired!
They started going down the list, naming all of the teams, and after awhile, I grew more and more nervous with each honor being given, because I still hadn’t heard my name called yet!
It was down to the last two pots! First place and last place! And when they announced, in front of a crowd of about 400 people, that I had won…you guessed it…I started to cry!
Yeppers, I sure did! I was smilin’ ‘n cryin’ just like all the Miss America pageants I watched as a little girl!
I didn’t win Miss America, nooooo, this was even better!!! 😀
And there weren’t any roses, tiaras, ball gowns or fancy-schmany prizes, either. We each got a small check that just barely covered the groceries and entry fee, and all of the rest of the proceeds collected from the public went to charity. There’s nothing better than that! 😉
I proceeded to win many more since then, and my chili has morphed into one of the best pots you’ve ever tasted! It has a very unique flavor and has caught the eyes and hearts of many judges across the country!
I have lost count of how many people continue to let me know that, “Hey, I tried your chili in our cook-off and we took first place!” Some making it “as is”, while others adjust slightly and add their own special touches. It always makes me smile to hear from them!
So if you’re looking for that special pot to make for your family, or maybe even for a competition, you just might want to give mine a try! 😉
Hope you all enjoy and have fun!! Life is so very short! Enjoy each and every moment! 🙂
6-TIME AWARD WINNING CHILI
In large deep frying pan sauté :
2 lbs. hamburger
1 lb. mild Italian ground sausage
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, diced (*ribs and seeds removed from all peppers)
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
6-8 fresh jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. each:
salt
coarse ground black pepper
good chili powder
ground cumin
good garlic powder
When done, drain grease well, dump into large heavy-bottomed pot, and add:
1/3 cup + 1 tsp. good chili powder
1 3/4 cups ketchup, I use Hunt’s
3 Tbl. lemon juice concentrate
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. molasses
1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. regular white vinegar
1 rounded tsp. regular table mustard
2 Tbl. cumin
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. smoked salt
1/2 tsp. sriracha
1/8 tsp. more each (to taste):
chili powder
garlic powder
cumin
salt (to taste)
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands to break up, drained, I use Hunt’s
3 cups V-8 Spicy Hot tomato juice
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, ( *a 15 – 15.5 oz can depending on brand)
1/2 lb. quality lean, thick cut, crisp cooked bacon, snipped into small pieces
*1 (16 oz.) container fresh sliced cremini mushrooms, *add during last 30 minutes
Rest of Directions:
Stir well once ingredients are added. Simmer on low for at least 2 hours, lightly covered. Stir as needed to prevent sticking. Chili will seem too thick, but don’t worry, it will cook down. *Chili will be super thick when chilled, though. Do not add liquid! Chili will thin back out when reheated.
*If a much thinner chili is preferred, you can add 1 can Campbell’s beef consommé, or one can beer, slowly adding until desired consistency is reached. But we like it thick and rich as is. 😉
This was delicious. I followed everything as listed, but did not add the mushrooms. I also added a little cocoa. Fantastic recipe! Thank you!!
Made this chili tonight and it’s great! At first when I tasted it, around the 2 hour mark. I felt like it was too sweet. But I added a little cocoa powder to cut the sweetness down a tad. And let it simmer for longer. I found the longer I simmered it, the less sweet it was as all the flavored blended together. Great recipe
Just made this…awesome tasting BTW. I did leave out the molasses And only two jalapeños, only because it was a little sweet And my wife and kids would probably freak at chili too spicy but followed everything else. Would make again. FYI if you add all the jalapeños as directed the sweetness will be cut down…
Thanks
I recently made this recipe for my school’s Family fun night chili shoot out. I had to improvise on a few ingredients, but followed as closely as I could. I won 1st out of 12 chili entries!!! I was so excited, since I’ve never even placed before. My principal told me he loved it so much he gave mine two votes. Thank you for leading me to a chili shoot out victory!!
I won! I won! I’ve entered a chili contest several times but never won. Well, I finally won with your recipe! Thanks so much. It was so fun to make with of all the wonderful ingredients. The judges were smitten in one bite. It was no contest after they tasted it.
Kelly, you are a hoot and would fit right in with my crazy group!!!! This looks like the thick rich chili I have been searching for. Can’t wait to try it.
Can’t wait to try this recipe
Unbelievable Recipe! I cooked in a cast iron and let it simmer under some Apple Wood and Hickory on my Big Green Egg for about an Hour. I had 5 people eat it and they all said it was by far the best chili they had ever eaten.
Won second! But only lost by 2!! This is a great recipe! I left out the mushrooms, b/c some in May family don’t like them & still a winner. Well done!
I just won an annual chili contest with your recipe! Thanks so much. My name goes up on a plaque and I got a trophy out of it. 🙂
How much did the recipe make?
My husband and I decided to enter our church’s chili competition on a whim and we settled on using your recipe. We added a little beer and some cocoa, and put in less sugar. There were 31 entries and I wasn’t sure how we would do, but I’m happy to say we won 2nd place and got a $45 gift card to Panera Bread! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipe. The only downfall of having such a successful pot of chili is that there were no leftovers to take home because everyone wanted to try the top 3 winners, lol!
Kelly, thank you very much for this recipe. It was very good. I tried it for a New Year’s Eve chili cook-off which I have never done before. A few things that I would like to say to others that may attempt to make this for the first time. Things I have learned since I am not a huge cook in the kitchen I did not have a lot of the spices so with that being said this recipe can/did get quite expensive. Allow enough time for this chili recipe to cook as I did not do this minimum it probably had 2 hours on it. I got there got it all set up in the Crock-Pot after it had been cooking on the stove. About a half hour 45 minutes later I go to taste it and the other ones just to compare and realized the power strip had not been turned on or tripped So Not only was it lukewarm it didn’t have a lot of additional cooking time. so with that being said I did take third place out of 4. Now a few questions for you Kelly can you tell me what Smokey salt is? Is there a reason why the spices get put in three different times? with there being three kinds of peppers (seeds removed) plus hot sauce I didn’t feel that it was very hot. Now for my taste it was fine but there were a few there that were looking for a hotter chili which of the four there was not one. I did cut the Chiles smaller should they be in bigger pieces? Thanks for all your help. Please know that this will not deter me from making it again as I may make it again this weekend for another chili contest
So so so good!!! Thank you very much for sharing! I have a Chili Cook-Off coming up this weekend and I,m POSITIVE I will win with this one!
I wanted to share that after coming in last place 4 years in a row-I FINALLY won 1st place in my neighborhood’s annual Chili Cook Off by a landslide with this recipe!! I followed the recipe exactly, except to cut the sugar by half and added a table spoon of cocoa at the end.
So amazing!!!
Thank you
Oh, Kerry!!! Congrats to you!! I am so, so happy for you!! That’s fantastic!! 😀 You are so very welcome and I’m just thrilled that I could help!! You made my day, too!!! 🙂
Best chili recipe EVER!!! It not only won our church chili cook-off, but every time I’ve made it, people rave about it so I send them your link. I know this may sound pretentious but the ‘mouth feel’ of this chili is so velvety and unexpected. THANK YOU for sharing your amazing recipe!
Aww!!! Thank you so, so very much!! What a kind, thoughtful, and sweet thing to say!! I appreciate it very much!! You just made my day!!! 😀
way too sweet. otherwise, it’s delicious! I will omit sugar next time.
By all means, make it how you and your family enjoys it! 😀 Thanks for stopping by Ashley! Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
We love it! Thank you!
You’re very welcome! Happy to hear!! 😀
Tonight was my first time making your chili recipe for a chili cook off. Thank you for sharing it. I won first place!!! It’s very good! I wanted to share this with you.
Fantastic, Kerisue!! CONGRATULATIONS!! 😀 Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! So happy for you! 🙂
Hi. I found your recipe on Pinterest when I was looking for the chili recipe for my husband ‘s company chili cook of. He won 1st place!!! Big thanks to you. We had to stop ourselves from eating too much of it the night before. He make a whole batch and he only had about 2 cups left to take home. It was so good! There is only one thing that we would try to do different next time. We would add mushroom the next day when we would be reheating it. again….Thank you. 🙂
Oh, that’s FANTASTIC, Cricket! 😀 Huge congrats to your hubby!! So happy to hear that you all enjoyed it and he won!! 😀 Always so exciting to hear!! 😀 Thanks so very much for trying my recipe! 😀
Excited to try this for a competition tomorrow! Question though – will this fill my 6 qt crockpot or should I plan to double it?? I’ll totally loop back around and let you know if (when??) it wins too!! 😉
Hi, Tianna! Just got your message! This pretty much fills my large oval one, but you could always try making 1 1/2 times. Doubling might be too much. Good luck to you!!! I hope you win!!! 😀
Thanks Kelly! Based on your previous response to Laura, who needed gallons for the fire department, I went ahead and 1 1/2 – to – doubled it (I am a sort-of-measurer, hehe). That being said, I WON “Most Traditional” AND “Judges’ Choice” with it!! Thanks so much!! 😀
More specifically, I used a 2 full bell peppers, an extra pound of Italian sausage, and fully double the initial spices in the meat-browning stage. The rest I mostly followed except for +1/2tsp of Molasses, subbed diced fire roasted tomatoes, subbed a tri-bean blend (dk red kidney, pinto, black bean), and probably added extra bacon and shrooms than called for because, you know, measuring… 😉
(2 cans of the beans, also)
Oh, Tianna!!!! That’s FANTASTIC!!!! Congrats to you!! And LOVE the way you made it your own! So very happy for you and proud of ya! 😀 Way to go!!!! 😀 Again, CONGRATS!!!! 😀 😀
Thinking about making this for a chili cook off this weekend. How spicy is it? I don’t like chili that is so spicy that it’s not enjoyable, but with enough spice that it can still be called chili.
I know exactly what you mean, Kristen! 🙂 So this one should be right up your alley! (No need to make it milder, but you can always add even more heat if you want.) But it should work really well for you! Good luck at the cook off!!! 😀
I am making this for a cooking contest on Saturday. The recipe does not say what size dark kidney beans. I noticed that the dark kidney beans only came in a average soup size can. Is that the correct amount?
Yes, it is! Sorry about that! Just use a 15 – 15.5 oz. can (depending on what brand you like), and remember to drain them and rinse the icky stuff off before adding them to the pot! Good luck to you and I hope you have a blast!!! 😀
Hi Kelly! All of your recipes look wonderful! I pinned your 6 time award winning chili recipe here https://www.pinterest.com/dorana1/blue-ribbon-recipes/ I hope you visit my Pinterest board, Blue Ribbon Recipes, and find a new recipe or two, that you would like to try! Have a great day!
Thank, Dana! Will do! 😀
Hi – If I were to make this in a crock pot, would you recommend any changes? Figured I would follow the recipe and once I get to: When done, drain grease well, dump into large heavy-bottomed pot, and add: just add everything to a crockpot and let it cook away on low for a few hours…
any recommendations would be great!
I’ve made this is a crock pot many times, Cathie, and you’re exactly correct. Instead of dumping it into a heavy-bottomed pot, dump it in a crock pot and let it cook for at least 2 hours, longer if you can. Check on it now and then and stir when it’s bubbly on top. But yes, it works very well in a crock pot! Hope you enjoy!! 😀
Thank you!!
One more question… recipe calls for regular table mustard… are we talking about yellow bottle mustard? Thanks! Making it this weekend for super bowl chili cook off!
Yep, just regular ol’ French’s mustard is what I use! 😀 I’ve tried others, but it didn’t have as good of results. The classic works the best! Good luck to you!! 😀
We are looking forward to trying this recipe at a fire department chili cookoff this weekend! I am hoping to find out how much chili this recipe makes? We need to make 12 quarts and I am trying to plan for ingredient shopping.
Thank you!!
Hello, Laura! Just got the message that you commented or I would’ve answered immediately! I would make this recipe at least x’s 3 for 3 gallons. But if you want to be on the safe side, you may want to go ahead and make it x’s 4. Better to have extra, even if you have to take some home, than not enough! But don’t worry, I promise you that you will come home with not only an empty pot, but hopefully a trophy, too! Please do let me know how things go!! 😀 Good luck to you and knock ’em dead! 😀
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for your reply! We actually made it x5 and still came home with an empty pot! The recipe is truly delicious and we had people coming back for seconds and thirds. We had heard that this contest has notoriously had the results skewed towards a certain fire department that sponsors the event so we were not surprised when they won….again. They even ran out out of chili halfway through the event! Oh well, we had a lot of fun and after trying all the other teams’ chili, our absolutely unbiased opinion was that yours was the best. We will be making it again!
Thanks again!!!
Laura 🙂
Awww, too bad they feel the need to win every time! But so happy to hear that you all had fun! That’s the most important thing! And also relived that you all enjoyed the chili! Chili cook-offs are a blast, and hope that you guys go again next year! 😀
We will definitely go back and we are looking for another cook off in our area that is not fixed so that your recipe will get the awards that it deserves 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!
Laura
I won the chili cookoff last night at our church Halloween party!!! Thank you soo very very much! It was such a great moment for me. But it’s all thank to you the inventor! Thank you!!!!!!!!!! Your amazing!
Woohoo!! Congrats to you, Kristi!! 😀 Sorry my reply is so late! I don’t seem to be receiving notifications when someone comments. So happy to hear the good news, though! 😀
I followed the recipe to a T..then tweeked it with quite a bit of added chili powder and cumin and some beef boullion towards the end….AND….I won a chili cook-off with this recipe!!! WooHoo!! Thanks for the recipe!! It not only taste good but it makes a beautiful rich looking chili!!
Oh! So very happy for you!! Congrats!! So glad everyone enjoyed!! 😀
There are some really suspect ingredients in this chilli (ketchup, lemon juice etc). You have peaked my curiosity with this one. So glad you shared. Can’t wait to try it! Is Sarachi that sauce?
You’re very welcome! Yes, it’s a very unique-tasting chili, yet still has a “classic chili” taste, too. And yep, sriracha is a hot sauce that’s more complex in taste than plain hot sauce. Hope you enjoy!! 😀