This recipe is ridiculously good for how simple it is! And since we took a pot of this spectacular chili camping and warmed our souls with a hearty lakeside meal, I will be making preparations to make it for every family camping trip in the future.

I crafted this recipe a couple years ago especially for an annual chili cookoff that is held in my mom’s small community in conjunction with the fall apple pressing festival. I could simply say that this dish won second place at the event, but there’s a little more to the story than that!

There is a large family in the area that supplies a large portion of the attendees for this event. On this particular year, my first in attendance, I was pretty excited for my chili recipe to go up against a dozen other entries. All the samples were great! And when you finally decide which chili is your favorite, you literally cast your “stone” (one of those glass fishtank rocks) into the cup sitting beside your champion’s crockpot.

Now I’m not sure how aware the rest of the public is, but every member of this very large family piles their rocks into their grandma’s cup, filling it to spilling over every year while the rest of the entries vie pretty fairly for second place. So when I received my commemorative certificate with my surname misspelled along with a $20 Ace Hardware gift card, I couldn’t be happier. It’s the most small-town thing to happen to me in the last ten years!

After much research I settled on three “secret” ingredients to make this chili just that much more fabulous. First is the meat you start with – we prefer pork sausage, and it lends a beautiful flavor and succulent texture to the dish. Hamburger chili can sometimes be dry or grainy and this is anything but! Just be sure not to overcook your meat during browning since it will continue to cook during the simmering process. Soon I would like to try some of my homemade venison sausage which I’m sure would be amazing!

The second secret touch is a hearty scoop of cocoa powder. This adds some earthy notes to the overall flavor and binds all the spices together really nicely. You can also add it into a homemade chili seasoning.

Finally, when I was researching blue-ribbon chili recipes to cook up my own creation, one ingredient I ran across repeatedly was beer. PBR chili is a popular recipe, but any light beer will do. I’ve even made this recipe with a darker IPA and it still turned out great.

I decided to call this Campfire Chili because that’s where I will be cooking it most frequently from now on. Many of the ingredients for chili are prepackaged and don’t need to be refrigerated, so this is a great option whether you’re driving into a state park or packing into a boat-only campsite. Just throw your meat of choice, frozen, into the ice chest and you’re good to go!

If you’re looking for a recipe to warm your belly and your heart, try simmering a pot of this Campfire Chili over an open fire for a truly unforgettable outdoor experience. While I tend to make this on the mild side it is easily spiced up with a few shots of your favorite hot sauce!

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Campfire Chili

Author: Elizabeth Ann

Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 90 mins Total Time 1 hr 50 mins

Description

If you’re looking for a recipe to warm your belly and your heart, try simmering a pot of this Campfire Chili over an open fire for a truly unforgettable outdoor experience. While I tend to make this on the mild side it is easily spiced up with a few shots of your favorite hot sauce!

Ingredients

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Servings

• 2 lb ground pork sausage
• 1 medium red onion (diced)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 packet chili seasoning
• 1 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 jar salsa (16 oz)
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
• 1 can light beer (12 oz)
• 1 can light kidney beans (15 oz)
• 1 can dark kidney beans (15 oz)
• 1 can black beans (15 oz)

Instructions

1. Place the pork, onion and garlic in a saucepan and saute until the meat is browned and fragrant.

2. Combine the seasonings in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the meat and stir together until evenly distributed.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and mix well. Allow to simmer for at least an hour on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding. Reduce to desired thickness.

4. Alternatively, after browning the meat you may place all ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low for at least three hours.

5. Serve piping hot with your favorite garnishes and cornbread. For potlucks or cookoffs, prepare the day before and store in the refrigerator to season overnight; bring back up to temperature on the stove or in a crockpot before serving. This will improve the flavor drastically.

Keywords: chili, cornbread, campfire, cooking