Thursday, December 3, 2020

Chili Pot Pie with Cornmeal Biscuit Crust #recipe @LucyBurdette


 LUCY BURDETTE: This is a recipe that takes a bit of planning ahead, but if you're in a hurry, you can used canned beans. On the other hand, Rancho Gordo beans are so much better than canned that I find them worth the trouble. And you can certainly make the chili the day before, then whip up the biscuits and bake before serving. The chili recipe makes a lot--I served half of it one day as plain old chili, and used the other half with the biscuit topping. It’s a very rich and satisfying chili, with many taste layers, adapted from Sarah Digregorio's slow cooker chili.



Ingredients for the chili: 


1 pound ground beef

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoons chipotle powder or 1 dried chipotle pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons mustard powder

2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) pilsner beer

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice

¼ cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce



2 cups dried beans, cooked until soft to make 4 cups (I used Rancho Gordo’s pintos)




Either brown the beef in a frying pan, drain the grease, and add beef to your slow cooker, or if your cooker has a frying feature, you can brown it right in that pot. Drain the grease, and add the garlic and chopped onion to the meat and sauté that a few minutes. Add the tomato paste and sauté a little longer. Add the spices and cook them with the other ingredients until fragrant. 



Add the beer, the diced tomatoes, the vinegar, the sugar or syrup, the soy sauce, Worcestershire, and the cooked beans. Simmer this on low for six hours.



For the biscuits:


1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced

¾ cup milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar added



Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles peas. Stir in the milk. Knead the mixture together briefly and pat into desired shape. (I was using a round casserole so I cut mine into triangles.) Fit them on top of the chili.




Bake at 400 until the biscuits are browning and the chili bubbling.



Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series, featuring fiesty food critic Hayley Snow. Number 10, THE KEY LIME CRIME, is in stores and online everywhere




10 comments:

  1. Thank you Lucy for the recipe. Your chili is no where near what mine is like. I'll have to give your's a try. The cornbread biscuits on top are going to be on top of my next bowl of chili for sure!

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  2. Thank you Lucy for the recipe. Your chili is no where near what mine is like. I'll have to give your's a try. The cornbread biscuits on top are going to be on top of my next bowl of chili for sure!

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  3. A woman after my own heart: you put cocoa in chili!
    I love the idea of these savory scones. You bake them separately and then put them on top for presentation?

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    Replies
    1. No you place them uncooked on top of the chili and it all bakes together!

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    2. I hadn't thought about a slow cooker being oven safe.
      So, after the 6 hours cooking, you top the chili and pop it in the oven.

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  4. Hi Lucy, I love chili and have never prepared it with cocoa powder. I'll have to give this a try!

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    Replies
    1. it's flexible too Tina, so if you don't have something or don't like it, just leave it out!

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    2. But the cocoa powder adds a depth of flavor that is great.

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  5. I love the idea of cooking the cornbread on top of the chili. Definitely need to try this now that it's getting colder here.

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