Dan's Chili

In celebration (and/or preparation) of our upcoming camping trip, we decided to make a hearty chili for the week. This recipe comes from our friend Dan's family. They have worked on adjusting and improving this recipe over several years to what it is today. And what it is, is amazing.

This is one of those recipes that gets passed on to you through scratched letters on a crinkled piece of paper. A forgiving recipe with very general (almost vague) ingredients/instructions. There are no specific measurements of anything. The chili powder amount is denoted by several scribbled stars encircling its letters.

I will try to capture its essence here:

Ingredients
-2 onions
-1-2 red or green peppers (I chose green for color variety)
-1-2 Tbs minced garlic
-1.3 lbs lean ground turkey (up to 2 lbs)
-1 bottle of beer (I prefer Yuengling)
-1 can of crushed tomatoes
-2 cups of water
-2 bouillon cubes (i.e. chicken stock if you have it)
-variety of beans (I did black, kidney, and cannellini)
-2 tsp corriander
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp cayenne
-1-2 Tbs chili powder
(Add more spices as you see fit. I probably usually add a little more than this)
(If you want this to be vegetarian, you could add fake meat crumbles and some vegetable oil. Not sure how this would turn out.)

Instructions
-Chop up the onions and pepper and through them into a large pot with some olive oil. Saute the onions and peppers and then add the lean turkey meat. Be sure to constantly mix the meat at this point. If you leave it to cook without mixing, it will be much harder to achieve the crumbly texture you want. So mix well!
-Once the meat has browned, add the beer and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Then add the crushed tomatoes, water, and bouillon cubes.
-Once combined add the beans and spices.
-Cover and cook "forever" (as per the original recipe). (This generally means for several hours. We cooked ours for about 5-6. So, start early in the day.)
-Remember to stir occasionally and check on the taste if you need more spices.