Ultimate Chili with Meat and Beans!
Is it possible to make good Chili, using dried beans, in 35-minutes cook time? Oh yeah!!
As I was writing my new micro-ebook, Tasty Tailgating:Fan Favorites Under Pressure, I wanted to include a really good, top-off-your-dogs-or-nachos Chili but…I wanted to used dried beans.
Growing up, I learned from my Mother to either soak the beans overnight or bring them to a boil, cover and soak for 1 hour and THEN you would season them and cooked along with other ingredients. Too slow for me!
Being the Pressure Cooker fan that I am, I have made dried beans in 20-35 minutes many times but I have always cooked them alone, i.e. black beans, lentils, pinto beans, etc. and then served them as-is or added them, pre-cooked, to whatever soup or meat dish that I was making. I had never just added dried beans to a recipe, like chili, at the same time as the other ingredients.
What if I added too much or not enough liquid? What if the beans soaked up the other flavors and tasted odd or the salt from the recipe made the beans hard? Would the timing be right or would some ingredients be over or under cooked? Should I consult a cookbook? Nah, that would be way too easy and sort of cheating, right?
So I plowed ahead, threw it all in the pot and went for it. Guess what? The Chili turned out SO GOOD! Well, actually the first time the beans were still a little hard and the mixture was a little too thick but after a couple of adjustments…I had made The Ultimate Chili with Meat and Beans! The cook time is only 35 minutes but by the time you prep, brown the meat, reach and release pressure, you are really looking at 50-55 minutes start to finish. But still…once you make that Chili Dog at half time you will know that it was well worth it!
Here is the recipe…but if you are more in the mood for Pulled Pork, Chicken Wings, a Pot Roast Hoagie, Brat ‘n Peppers ‘n Beer, Peel ‘n Eat Shrimp or any of my other yummy recipes, grab a copy of my $0.99 ebook on Amazon…it’s even free for Prime Members!
Ultimate Chili with Meat and Beans
Everyone loves Chili…their way! Make any adjustments that you desire to my recipe below to make it your own. Add extra hot sauce, jalapeños, corn or anything you like! I like to use dried beans because they are much less expensive, but if you prefer to use canned please read the directions at the end of the recipe.
Serves: 10-12
Prep: :15 Cook: :35 Release: Natural
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1.25 lb. ground turkey (you may use all turkey or all beef if desired)
1 lb. ground beef; at least 80% lean (you may use all turkey or all beef if desired)
1 medium onion chopped; about 1 C
1 medium green bell pepper coarsely chopped; about 1 C
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs. chili powder
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (29-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 C water; divided between the tomato cans to swish
1 C V-8 Juice spicy hot flavor
1 pound dried kidney beans; washed and picked over for broken beans or pebbles
Shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream and pickled jalapeño pepper slices optional
Plug in the pressure cooker, set timer for 35* minutes and press Start. Or preheat over medium heat if using a stovetop model.
Add the oil, ground turkey and ground beef to pan. Begin browning the meat, stirring often. When meat begins to brown, stir in the chopped onion and pepper along with the seasonings. Stir and cook about 1 minute.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Pour 3/4 C water into each can and swish around to capture the remaining tomato and then pour into the pot. Add the spicy V-8 juice and the washed kidney beans.
Secure the lid and set valve to the closed position. For stovetop models, set your timer to 35* minutes once pressure has been reached; it is recommended to use a heat diffuser between the cooker and the stovetop to prevent burning.
When cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and stir the chili. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
Serve hot with shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a few pickled jalapeño slices for the ultimate yum factor! Or top off your nachos or Dirty Water Dogs!
Canned Beans Directions: If you would rather use canned beans, reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes and THEN add the canned beans. Bring the chili back up to temperature and keep warm until ready to serve.
*This recipe was written for a pressure cooker with 12psi. If your cooker has 15psi, reduce cooking time to 27 minutes.
