Triple Chocolate Chili

We served this dish during our Wines and Chocolates Class. We had so many requests for the recipe that we've decided to post it.

What makes this a "Triple Chocolate Chili"? We have 3 sources of chocolate flavors: semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder and chocolate stout beer.

We served this chili with our Syrah. We recommend you do the same!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb of beef chuck / stew beef (cut into cubes)

• 1 lb of ground beef

• 1 dried ancho chili

• 1 dried California chili

• 1 large can of pinot beans (32 oz)

• 1 can of tomato paste (6 oz)

• 1 can of crushed tomatoes (15 oz)

• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3 oz of semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used a coffee mill)

• 1 bottle (12 oz) of chocolate stout

• 2-1/2 cups of chicken stock

• 2 tbsp of brown sugar

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 2 tsp paprika

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 6 cloves of garlic (chopped)

• 2 large yellow onions (chopped)

• 3 Bay leaves

• Olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• Honey

PREPARATION:

Chocolate Chili Sauce

• Add chilis to 3 cups of boiling water (exact amt of water is not critical)

• Remove from heat and place something on top of the chilis to keep them submerged in the hot water

• Soak for ~30 min

• Remove chilis and retain soaking water

• Remove and discard stems and seeds from chilis

• In a blender, add chilis, 3/4-cups of the soaking water, chopped semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, oregano, cumin, paprika, lemon juice and brown sugar. Puree until smooth. Add more soaking water if needed, but keep this thick

Get to Cooking

• Add a touch of oil to a pot and in batches, brown the cubed beef on all sides. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside cooked beef in a large bowl

• Cook ground beef and drain 1/2 of the grease. Set ground beef aside with the cooked cubed beef

• In same pot, cook garlic and onions, stirring occasionally until transparent

• Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, beer, stock and the chocolate chili sauce

• Add beef, beans and bay leaves

• Bring to a boil for 1 minute

• Simmer for 2 hours

• Taste during simmer and add additional brown sugar and honey to decrease spice/heat to what you like

• Makes approx. 8 servings.

• Pour a glass of our Colson Canyon Vineyard Syrah and enjoy with friends!

Chef's Notes:

• To make this chili less spicy for wine pairing, I added approx. 3 tbsp of brown sugar, 2 tbsp of honey and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder extra during the simmer phase

• I like Sam Adam's Chocolate Stout as it's very "chocolatey". I've only seen this in their speciality seasonal 12-packs, so I used Hanger 12's Chocolate Porter as it was available at my local grocery store. It comes in 24-oz bottles, so after adding 12-oz to the chili mix, I enjoyed myself a glass. A great perk of being the cook!