The Chili Results are In. Plus Recipes!

This blog post is guest written by Eric Keeley, Outreach and Marketing Coordinator at Elevate Energy. He’s also a chili aficionado.

Many inquiries have come our way regarding  Elevate Energy’s second annual  chili cook-off. What people REALLY seem to want are the recipes.  Today, we’re honored to share some of those recipes.

A total of ten very diverse chilies were painstakingly cooked up and hauled into the office. We present to you our recipes, because truly, they were all winners:

First place, veggie category: Eya’s vegetarian chili from the nonprofit team

• 5 pounds ground turkey (omit for vegetarian version)
• 4 rolls chorizo  (omit for vegetarian version)
• 2 (16 oz) cans black beans
• 4 (16 oz) cans red kidney beans
• 1 pound cut corn, frozen
• 1 medium bunch cilantro
• 2 (2 pound) cans diced tomatoes
• 2–3 medium onions, diced fine
• 1 extra large bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large bunch garlic, fresh
• 2 small cans or 1 medium can adobe peppers
• Chili powder to taste
• Cumin to taste
• Hickory liquid smoke to taste

1. Brown turkey and chorizo in skillet
2. Chop bell peppers, onions, cilantro, adobe peppers, and garlic in food processor and sauté in stock pot
3. Add diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, and red kidney beans to stock pot
4. Use enough water to rinse all cans and add to pot
5. Add tomato puree and stir in
6. Simmer thirty minutes
7. Add ground turkey and chorizo to stock pot when browned
8. Add chili powder and cumin to taste
9. Bring to rapid boil for ten minutes, stirring often
10. Turn down heat and simmer on low for three to four hours, stirring frequently
11. Add hickory liquid smoke to taste and simmer for about 30 minutes
12. Let cool and allow seasonings to settle overnight

First place, meat mategory: Carl’s meat chili from the IT/tech services  team

The basis of the chili recipe was Clay’s Colossal Chili. The following changes made were:

• More meat cooked in smaller batches at higher heat to create lots of frond in the pan
• An extra ½ cup of wine to deglaze all of that frond (and add the resulting slurry to the meat) before adding the peppers and onions to the pan
• Different tomatoes (use a product without corn syrup)
• Beef stock instead of water
• Varied the spice ratio to our liking

The research and policy team’s New Mexico Big Red Chili

Brown chorizo and arrachera with a can of chiles en adobo, which you have chopped and seeded according to spice preferences.

In a crockpot, the night before eating, add equal amounts each of black beans, pinto beans, and red beans (or any combination). Add 1 Tbsp each of NM green chile powder, NM hot red chile powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder. Using a gas range, toast 3-4 guajillo chiles on a medium flame, and once aromatic, toss whole into the crockpot. Add enough stock and water to cover everything by at least one inch. Set to “high” until you go to bed, then turn down to “low.” Add more liquid as needed in the morning, and fish out the chile pieces if they are still intact, especially the stems.  Add the chorizo and arrachera in the morning. Season to taste, and enjoy!

The construction team’s chicken and sausage white chili

• 1 pound diced boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 pound ground country sage sausage (bulk breakfast sausage)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 1½ tsp cajun seasoning
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin seed
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 (10½ oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups water
• 1 (15½ oz) can great northern beans, drained
• 1 (15½ oz) can pinto beans with jalapenos, drained
• 1 (15½ oz) can white hominy, drained
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
• 2 cups milk
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• 2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

1. Heat a 4 quart metal kettle hot and dry. Remove from heat. Lightly coat with olive oil. Return to very low heat while preparing meats and vegetables.
2. Turn heat to high and sauté chicken, sausage, onion, garlic, cajun seasoning, and cumin, stirring frequently to break up sausage in small chunks. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.
3. Stir in flour, then soup, then water. Add beans, hominy, and green chiles. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in milk. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Bring just to boil. Stir in cheese until melted.
5. Serve immediately with hot buttered tortillas

The communications and outreach team:

Follow this buttermilk cornbread recipe with the following amendments and recommendations:

• A vintage ten-inch cast iron skillet is ideal.
• Thinly slice three or four fresh, de-seeded jalapeno peppers and perhaps diced a red bell pepper for color, mix into the batter just before you pour into the skillet.  Save a little of each pepper from the batter to decorate the top before you slide it into the oven.
• Throw in a couple big handfuls of shredded sharp cheddar and mix in with the peppers and batter.
• When you melt the butter in the skillet, preheat the pan, add the butter, let it get good and hot, but don’t burn before you pour in your batter. That would be bad. Some staff recommend sprinkling a bit of crushed red pepper into the sizzling butter before the batter.  Extra butter is always a good idea; a hot skillet is a must.

The dynamic pricing team:

Crockpot Crazy Pineapple Chili

The multifamily/special projects team:

Chinese Brisket Chili