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I've been using ground sirloin to thicken the sauce lately. It's not noticeable (as ground meat) after a long cook, but the sirloin adds a ton of flavor and texture to the sauce.


Chorizo, 1/4 ground sirloin, 1/4 cubed flank, 1/4 cubed short rib and 1/4 cubed sirloin is now my go-to meat mixture.

I don't use raw brisket for chili anymore. Only for a cook, or for burgers. Similar mix for those - brisket, short ribs and flank. Although for the last grind I used brisket, short ribs and tenderloin scraps (from my Christmas trimmings).

I never make any kind of chili anymore without beef stock.  I suppose I might use a chicken stock if I didn't have beef.  I can't believe i once did make chili w/o stock.

I consider the onion, garlic and ground sirloin that all disintegrate (into the beer) to be my beef stock.

I haven't used beer in years, but I need to remember to go back to it when not in competition

beef broth and chorizo are on my list to try soon

maybe with the cubed smoked brisket for the super bowl party

Depends on what I'm going for.  I definitely don't ever use a bitter American IPA, I don't like that flavor in beer by itself, and I don't want it in my chili.

But don't be afraid to go with something dark and malty, the entire point is to build up the depth of the flavor profile. There are plenty of chili recipes that call for things like cinnamon, allspice, cloves-- I don't typically include those, but I will definitely use some of the winter/Christmas beers with those spices in them when making chili. So my batches around the holidays usually have something like that in them, but later in the winter season I typically go with lagers, with Czech pilsners being the most common.

I'm almost out of Chile Crunch. As you advised, that stuff is LEGIT. Highly recommended.