June 6, 2026 Chili
Time to do a big batch of chili! Ooops, we’ve never put the recipe up:
By reverse engineering the Wick Fowlers spice packages we came up with this for 2 pounds of ground beef:
1.5 tsp salt
1.75 tsp paprika
1 tbsp dried onion
0.5 tbsp cumin and oregano, ratio unknown
1.5 tsp cayenne
7 tbsp chili powder
2 lbs lean ground beef, fat is almost impossible to deal with
1 pkg Wick Fowlers Chili
8 oz. tomato sauce or more
Homebrew:
1.5 tsp salt
1.75 tsp paprika
1 tbsp dried onion
0.5 tbsp dried garlic
0.5 tbsp cumin and oregano, ratio unknown
1.5 tsp cayenne
7 - 10 tbsp chili powder (for example 4 tbsp Pasilla, 2-3 tbsp Anchoe, 1-2 tbsp New Mexico)
1/4 cup or more of port
The ratio of onion to garlic is guessed at 2x oniuon to garlic. They both come in one package.
With the homebrew, use fresh onion and garlic and sauté with the meat. This is why you have to use very lean ground beef. Also, we prefer the chili powder to be fresh ground from a blend of dried red chilis. If the chili isn't really powdered by the spice grinder you have to use a bit more.
The Mexican store where we get the chili. Bing.com’s translation - El Cerrito Butcher Shop.
They keep a large inventory of each type of chili and always have enough different types to make our chili.
The mise en place. King Soopers had some 93% lean ground beef! That’s 4 pounds total, a double batch, which is about all we can handle. That’s one giant yellow onion diced in the stainless bowl.
We went with the the New Mexico, Chile Negro, and Chile Pasilla. None of them were leathery enough to need to bloom them in the oven.
Here’s the chili powders. We’re still amazed at how the chilis change color when ground.
The meat is browned, the onions have melted nicely, and quality control is on the job. All that’s left is to add everything to the slow cooker for 4 hours or so.
Marigold’s gave us some of their wonderful pea soup to take home. Martin thought some crème fraîche would go well with it and it did. Livingstone really likes it.
The goat cheese worked best.
Chili is parrot approved! Really approved!
Finally got this packaged on 6/9/2026. 13 chili dog sized containers and 3 dinners as well.