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Get my books (including The Food Lab and my new book, The Wok) here: https://www.kenjilopezalt.com

If you want a bean-free, Texas-style chile con carne, here's a video for that:    • Texas Chile Con Carne (No Beans, Chun...  

Here's a very complicated chili recipe (my "Best Chili Ever"): https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-...

Here's a pressure cooker chili recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/pressure-...

And here is a recipe for chile paste, which can and should replace chili powder in any recipe you'd like: https://www.seriouseats.com/chili-pur...


Here's the Easy Weeknight Chili recipe from my first book, The Food Lab:

EASY WEEKNIGHT GROUND BEEF CHILI
Adapted from The Food Lab


Sometimes even the best of us don’t feel like going all out. Here’s a much quicker weeknight chili that uses a few of the tricks learned from my Best Short-Rib Chili (page 259) and the 30-minute bean soup recipes (pages 196–200). I use ground beef here, which precludes real browning as an option, but a couple of smoky chipotle chiles added to the mix lend a similar sort of deep complex- ity. Serve the chili with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, scallions, sliced jalapeños, diced avo- cado, and/or chopped cilantro, along with corn chips or warmed tortillas.

SERVES 4 TO 6

4 tablespoons unsalted butter2 medium onions, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 11⁄2 cups)2 large cloves garlic, minced or grated on a Microplane (about 4 teaspoons)1 teaspoon dried oreganoKosher salt2 chipotle chiles packed in adobo, finely chopped2 anchovy fillets, mashed to a paste with the back of a fork1⁄2 cup Chile Paste (page 259) or 1⁄4 cup chili powder1 tablespoon ground cumin1⁄2 cup tomato paste2 pounds boneless ground chuck One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped into 1⁄2-inch piecesOne 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock, or water2 to 3 tablespoons instant cornmeal (such as Maseca)2 tablespoons whiskey, vodka, or brandy (optional)Freshly ground black pepper Garnishes as desired (see the headnote)
1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, oregano, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring fre- quently until the onions are light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotles, anchovies, chile paste, and cumin and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring until homogeneous, about 1 minute.
2. Add the ground beef and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the beef into pieces and stirring frequently, until no longer pink (do not try to brown the beef ), about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans, stock, and cornmeal and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have developed and the chili is thickened, about 30 minutes.
3. Stir in the whiskey, if using. Serve with some or all of the suggested gar- nishes, along with corn chips or tortillas.