August’s Chili Recipe with Dark Beer and Chocolate

I don’t do a lot of cooking, except for grilling and the occasional meat dish. (Man food?)  But Laurie is always tickled when I take over the kitchen and make up a batch of this spicy chili recipe.

It satisfies my cravings for spicy food, and satisfies my wife’s cravings for a day off from cooking. I figured I’d pass it along.

August’s Chili Recipe

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

This hearty chili is slow simmered with hot pepper and dark beer.

• Author: August Neverman
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 10 servings 1x
• Category: Chili

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Chili:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound mild or hot Italian sausage
• 2 large onion, chopped, divide some for topping
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 habanero pepper, seeds removed and minced finely (Use gloves!)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and minced finely (Use gloves!)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 bottle dark beer
• 1 TBSP Better Than Bouillon Beef Flavor
• 1 TBSP Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chocolate cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt to taste (if you use low salt Bouillon you may need to add some)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Toppings:

• Chopped Onion or chives
• Sour Cream
• Tortilla chips
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Chopped avocado

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. In large heavy duty pot, brown the ground beef and sausage.  Drain meat, if desired. Set aside.
2. Sauté onion and garlic until onion is clear. Add peppers, cook until tender. Return meat to pan. Add other ingredients (except toppings).
3. Simmer on low heat for at least 4 hours (or transfer to a crock pot). More simmering is better.  Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water as needed while chili is simmering. We regularly make the batch a day or two before we plan to eat it so flavors meld together.
4. To serve, set out toppings and allow guests to add their favorites to their bowls of chili.

Notes

To make it more spicy, double the habanero, jalapeno and cayenne pepper.  If you substitute fresh tomatoes, you may want to reduce the brown sugar. Some cook the beef and sausage separately to drain the beef, but keep the fat and spices from the mild or hot sausage. The beer we use is Guinness Dark Stout.

My Chili Recipe Origin Story

When I started experimenting with chili recipes, my first goal was a chili that didn’t suck. I don’t like chili with beans (sorry bean lovers), and I wanted heat, but not so much that it lights your face on fire.

Being from Wisconsin, it had to have beer, and the cocoa adds another layer to the flavor. I first made this recipe for a chili contest at work, and I won first place.

In the Green Bay, Wisconsin area we often serve chili over spaghetti noodles, topped with sour cream and cheese. Serving it with tortilla chips is an easier option for a buffet. Of course, you are welcome to serve it plain, too. (No toppings or noodles or chips.)

Here I am chopping hot peppers, circa 2013. Don’t forget the food prep gloves, and don’t touch your face with “hot pepper hands”! The peppers can burn, and you do not want that juice near your eyes. (I found that out the hard way.)

I am not much for photos, but my wife snuck up on me while I was busy making the chili recipe.

Don’t skip the dark beer! The alcohol cooks off, and it adds just the little “somethin-somethin” to the flavor profile.

More Homestyle Recipes

Flavorful, easy to make recipes are what we enjoy, and we hope you like them, too. These are some more of our favorites:

Best Cornbread Recipes – Northern and Southern Style

Toscana Soup Like Olive Garden (except better…)

How to Cook a Tender Beef Tongue – The Easy Way

This article was written by August Neverman IV. August is a Broadband Consultant and I/T, Cyber Security, DR/BC and Business Ops Consultant. He’s served on several emergency preparedness teams with: government, hospitals, as well as undergoing emergency response training during his time with the Air National Guard. He and his wife, Laurie, live with their two sons in a Green Built, Energy Star certified home with a permaculture twist.

Originally published in 2013, last updated in 2024.