Smoky Turkey Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb package of ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large sweet peppers green or red, cut in a large dice
- 1 large red or yellow onion cut in a large dice
- 3 stalks of celery cut in thin slices
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves minced [or more if you like]
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 - 15 grinds fresh black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon granulated onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder [if serving little kids or people you know are sensitive to spicy food, it is probably best to start with just 1 teaspoon]
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 28 ounce cans of whole tomatoes [or the equivalent amount in home canned or frozen tomatoes]
- 2 - 3 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 15 ounce can each pinto beans, red kidney beans, chick peas and black beans - drained and rinsed
- 1 more clove of garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Instructions
- This is going to make a pretty big pot of chili, so I use and 8 quart pot, to give me plenty of room in which to work. Heavy stainless steel is the best choice.
- Over a high flame, heat the 2 tablespoon of olive oil in the pot, until it begins to shimmer slightly.
- Put all of the turkey in at once, and just break up very slightly - don't stir it all over, just let it sit, cooking in the hot oil for several minutes, to get a bit of caramelization on the meat.
- Once you see some nice color on the bottom, begin to stir the turkey around, and break it up a little. I like to leave the meat in fairly large chunks at this point, because turkey is softer than beef, and you don't want it end up too small at the end - you want some nice texture in there.
- When about 3/4 of the turkey has lost it's pink color, add the peppers, onions, celery and garlic, and stir to combine. [you can hold back a few tablespoons of the veggies for the last half hour of cooking, if you like - gives things a bit of nice crunch] Leave the heat pretty high still.
- Sprinkle in the salt and pepper.
- Stir the turkey and veggies around every couple minutes, to keep things from sticking. Cook about 5 minutes, until the veggies are getting kind of soft.
- Add all of the spices, except the bay leaves and cook for a minute or two to wake them up.
- Add the tomatoes [I like to chop up the tomatoes a bit - you can just go in the cans with a pair of kitchen shears and cut through them, or dump them in and then cut around on them with a metal spatula.]
- Stir in the liquid smoke, red wine vinegar and chicken stock.
- Cook, covered for an hour, stirring every so often.
- After an hour, taste the chili, to see if it needs any more seasoning, and add more salt, maybe more chili powder or cumin if you think it needs it. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Add the beans, the additional garlic [which is optional, but it does add a nice edge], and stir. [if you held back a bit of the veg, add that now as well]
- Cook another 30 minutes.
- Stir in the cilantro and let sit, uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Serve in bowls. Provide whatever you like for sprinkling over the top - shredded cheese, sliced scallions, cubed avocado, sliced jalapenos, crushed tortilla chips, sour cream.
- Store refrigerated, and it does freeze well - thaw completely before heating.
Notes
As is often the case with soups and chilis, this definitely becomes more flavorful if it is refrigerated and reheated. That makes it the perfect make-ahead meal.