Recipe Background
West Coast Chili takes the chili tradition from the American South and brings it to the sunny Pacific shores! It has chunks of beef and creamy beans, as well as bites of crispy bacon, not to mention that fantastic spice mixture you need in a good chili. Rich tomatoes and tangy barbecue sauce come together to make a fantastic meal indeed! West Coast Chili is a sunny day for your taste buds.
West Coast Chili takes the chili tradition from the American South and brings it to the sunny Pacific shores! It has chunks of beef and creamy beans, as well as bites of crispy bacon, not to mention that fantastic spice mixture you need in a good chili. Rich tomatoes and tangy barbecue sauce come together to make a fantastic meal indeed! West Coast Chili is a sunny day for your taste buds.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sliced bacon diced
- 2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup jarred chili sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon baking cocoa
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder optional
- 3 (16-ounce) cans kidney beans rinsed and drained
- cheddar cheese to taste, shredded, for serving
Directions
- In a Dutch oven over medium heat, add the diced bacon and cook, while stirring, until crisp, about 5-7 minutes.
- Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
- Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven, draining the remainder.
- Add the beef cubes to the hot bacon drippings and cook, while stirring occasionally, until browned on most sides, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the onions to the beef and cook, while stirring, until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the beef mixture and cook, while stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the crispy bacon to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the tomatoes and their juices, the barbecue sauce, the chili sauce, the honey, the beef bouillon, the bay leaf, the chili powder, the cocoa, the Worcestershire sauce, the mustard, the cumin, and the cayenne to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
- Bring the beef mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the Dutch oven.
- Allow the beef mixture to simmer until the beef is tender, about 3 hours.
- Add the kidney beans to the beef mixture and cook until heated through.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Transfer the Dutch oven from the heat.
- Sprinkle the chili with the cheddar cheese.
- Serve.
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