Boozy Chilli con Carne
For when you forgot how to live
Prep time: 20 min | Cooking time: 2–3 hours (the longer the better) | Total time: 2,5-3 hours | Difficulty: 2/5
There are days when the only reasonable thing to do is surrender to something slow-cooked, meaty, and boozy.
This chilli is exactly that: a pot of deeply spiced comfort with the emotional range of a mid-season character arc — dark, smoky, but somehow still holding it together.
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Ingredients (serves 4, or 1 person having a day)
Red bell peppers 2
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Beef mince 500 g / 1 lb
Chouriço 200 g / 7 oz
Onion 1 large
Garlic 4 cloves
Ground cumin 2–4 tsp (start with 2, taste halfway, and add more — I always do)
Smoked paprika 2 tsp
Dried oregano 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick 1
Mezcal 40 ml / 3 tbsp
Red wine 250 ml / 1 cup
Canned chopped tomatoes 400 g / 14 oz
Gigante beans 400 g / 14 oz can
Beef or chicken stock 500 ml / 2 cups
Dark chocolate (70%+) 30 g / 1 oz
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Equipment
Baking tray for roasting peppers
Heatproof bowl with a plate (to steam and peel peppers)
Sharp knife and chopping board
Grater
Large heavy pot or Dutch oven
Wooden spoon (or something sturdy enough to scrape the good bits off the bottom)
Method
Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Throw the peppers on a tray and roast them for about 25 minutes, turning once, until they look half-destroyed (the more char the sweeter). Transfer to a bowl, cover with a plate, and let them steam for ten minutes — it helps the skins slip off without a wrestling match. Peel, deseed, and roughly chop.
Dice the chouriço into small cubes (small enough to melt into the beef later, not so small that they disappear). Finely chop the onion and garlic.
Get your biggest, heaviest pot and heat it over medium-high. Add the olive oil, then the beef mince and chouriço. Let them cook until browned and a bit crisp at the edges. Break up the mince as it cooks, but don’t be too eager — colour equals flavour, and patience is free.
Add the onion and garlic. Stir until everything starts smelling like a meal. Add the roasted peppers.
Add the cumin (start with 2 tsp), smoked paprika, oregano, and the cinnamon stick. Stir for a minute or two to wake them up. It should smell so good that you briefly forgive everyone who’s ever wronged you.
Pour in the mezcal and scrape up the stuck bits — they’re flavour, not dirt. Let it bubble away for a minute, then add the red wine and give it another couple of minutes to calm down. It should stop smelling boozy before the next step.
Add the chopped tomatoes, gigante beans, and stock. Season with salt and black pepper, bring to a boil, then turn it down to a lazy simmer. Halfway through, taste and probably add more cumin (I always do). Stir whenever you remember you’re cooking.
Your entire house smells like chorizo. It’s not a step, there is nothing you can do, but now you know.
When the chilly is thick, glossy, and smells a little dangerous, stir in the dark chocolate. Let it melt, taste again, and adjust with salt, pepper, and lime juice.
Serve in bowls and top with cheddar, sour cream, parsley, and green onion.
Nutritional Value (estimate, per serving)
Calories: 520 kcal
Protein: 34 g
Fat: 25 g
Carbohydrates: 38 g
See you next week for the food; the whining, as per usual, is on Substack.