My new favorite cooking appliance is my electric pellet grill. The hubby bought two of them last winter – one in ND and one in AZ. I know I’ve used them 10 times as much as he has. Thank you Pinterest and the Traeger Women’s group on Facebook! I love the flavors it gives all kinds of food from the usual meats to mac n cheese to bread and even desserts. I’ve brined and smoked a ham, brined and spatchcocked the Thanksgiving turkey and made my own birthday cake – a strawberry margarita upside down cake (my birthday is on Cinco de Mayo, so I had to).
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about Over the Top Chili, so my suspense got the best of me. Like most recipes, I looked at several and then winged it. It was fabulous!! Here is how I did it. Feel free to sub your choice of spices, veggies and liquids.
The premise of Over the Top Chili is to make a big hamburger patty with the meat and smoke it on a grate above the rest of the chili ingredients, breaking it up and mixing it in when it’s cooked. I took it one step further and smoked and roasted the veggies as well.
Prep:
- 2 lbs very lean hamburger. (This is important because it will be cooking over the top of your chili, so you don’t want a bunch of fat dripping into it.)
- Seasoning for the burger – I used salt and pepper, chopped fresh garlic and cilantro, and worcestershire sauce.
Mix the seasoning and burger and form a big patty.
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes (you can use larger diced, stewed, Rotel, crushed – whatever you please)
2 cups liquid (water, broth, beer, red wine – I used beef broth)
1/4 cup chili powder
2 Tbs. paprika
salt, pepper, and granulated garlic to taste
2 large bay leaves
Mix these ingredients in a large Dutch oven and put the beef patty on a grate over the top of it.
Chop onions, green or multicolored peppers, jalapeno peppers, celery and put them on a tray. I used aluminum pie plates with the perforated bottom to let even more smoke get to them.
Start your smoker grill and get it smoking and set it to low (between 175 and 200). Put the Dutch oven, meat patty, and veggies on the rack and smoke on low for 2 hours.
Turn up the heat to 350 and insert a probe into the middle of the meat. Cook until the internal temp of the meat is 150 – about another hour.
You can mix the veggies into the pot before you increase the heat or leave them out until the meat is cooked through. Leaving them out will allow them to roast for added flavor and texture.
When the internal temp of the meat reaches 150, put it into the pot and break it up. Add the rest of the veggies if you didn’t do it earlier. Add the beans and a couple more cups of liquid. I used one can of chili beans and one can of drained, rinsed black beans. Use a can or two of your favorite or leave them out if you like. I used water for the liquid this time. Give it a stir and return to the grill to simmer for at least half an hour to let the flavors blend.
Serve with your favorite toppings – sour cream, green onions, and crushed tortilla chips were my choice tonight.
I paired this chili with a dry Nebbiolo rose. The cool acidity was a perfect palate refresher. Dark reds tend to amplify the heat in spicy dishes so be cautious of that.
This really is over the top, and I’m not just talking about the cooking method! The smoke flavor really comes through in the flavor of the meat to take it to the next level. Let me know if you try this and how you make it your own!
ND2AZ Foodie 