Beef and Bean Chili with Dark Chocolate
Long-simmered chuck, two kinds of beans, and a square of chocolate stirred in at the end.
- calories
- 650
- weight
- 13 oz
- cal / oz
- 50
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 120 min
- total time
- 140 min
- water
- 200 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Dutch oven
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Boneless beef chuck | about 1.3 lb | cut into 2 cm cubes at home |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 | cut in wedges |
| Garlic | 2 cloves | chopped |
| Neutral oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Tomato paste | 2 tbsp | tube travels better than a can |
| Canned chopped tomatoes | 2 cans | |
| Beef bouillon cube | 1 | makes 200 ml of stock with water |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | plus more at the end |
| Ground cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Cinnamon stick | 1 | |
| Canned chili beans | 2 cans | drained |
| Green bell pepper | 1 | diced |
| Red bell pepper | 1 | diced |
| Dark baking chocolate | 1 oz | |
| Brown sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven or heavy pot over the fire. Brown the beef in two batches so it sears instead of steams. Set it aside.
- Cook the onion wedges in the same pot until they turn glossy, then add the garlic for thirty seconds.
- Return the beef. Stir in the tomato paste and fry it for two minutes, which takes the raw edge off it.
- Pour in the canned tomatoes and 200 ml of water with the bouillon cube crumbled in. Add the chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon stick.
- Lid on, low coals or a small flame. Simmer 1 to 2 hours until the beef gives way to a spoon. Stir occasionally so the bottom does not scorch.
- Add the drained beans and the diced peppers. Cook another 10 minutes until everything is hot through.
- Off the heat, grate or chop in the chocolate and stir until it melts. Add the sugar, then salt, pepper, and more chili powder until it tastes right. Fish out the cinnamon stick.
Chuck is the point of this one. It is a working muscle full of collagen, and it needs a long wet simmer to break down into something tender. There is no shortcut, so this belongs at a basecamp or a car-camping site where the fire is burning for hours anyway and nobody is waiting on dinner to hike.
The chocolate and the sugar at the end are not a garnish. Two cans of tomatoes plus tomato paste land sharp and acidic after a long cook, and a small amount of unsweetened chocolate flattens that out and adds body. The cinnamon stick does similar work from the other direction. The original serves this with sour cream, which is a cooler liability, so season harder at the end instead.
Packing
Cube the beef and dice the peppers and onion at home, each in its own bag, and keep the beef at the bottom of the cooler. Measure the chili powder, cumin, and sugar into one small container. Cans are heavy, so this is a drive-in or short-carry meal.
Variations
- Swap the chuck for two cans of drained chicken if you want to skip the two-hour simmer.
- Freeze the browned beef and tomato base at home and reheat it in camp; it cuts the cook time to twenty minutes.
- Corn tortillas or chips on the side turn one pot into a full spread.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/gjester/chili-con-carne-med-hoyrygg