Ron Castle's Sunshine Chili Recipe

"Whenever I meet someone who does not consider chili a favorite dish, then I've usually found someone who has never tasted good chili."
Jan Butel, author of "Chili Madness"

Sunshine Chili is a versatile recipe that allows you to make chili with beef (or other meat if you wish) and a great vegetarian chili at the same time.  This recipe makes 2 gallons, which was the requirement for the Winchester Fall Festival Chili Cook Off held October 15, 2011. The recipe won both competitions and $200. The cost of the ingredients to make 2 gallons is about $100 at the moment.

Preparing the Beef

You need 4-5 pounds of beef chuck.  I prefer boneless.  In a roasting pan with a lid, rub the pan with a little olive oil.  Trim any excess fat from the chuck and save it for my dogs.  Liberally dust the chuck with garlic powder and onion powder.  Add salt free beef broth to just cover the chuck.  Sprinkle in a package of Lipton's onion soup mix.  If you want to add diced onions and fresh garlic cloves this is AOK.

Cook the covered pan for 7 to 8 hours at 220F until the meat is shred able.

I prefer to let the meat cool overnight in the pan.  Prior to adding to the chili, I hand shred the meat setting aside any fat, gristle and fascia which is for the dogs, and my one favorite cat.  The other cats, no can do.

When the meat is shredded, depending on the length of the shreds, you might want to chop very coarsely to make it fit the spoon better.

Read below about adding the meat and all of the liquid to the chili pot.  Read the rest of the story before proceeding.

The Vegetarian Chili

My idea about what chili should be comes from my Texas roots and thoughts about how the chuck wagon cook might have fixed chili before the age of the Cuisinart.  I like for my chili to have texture. Read more about the history of chili cooking if you are interested.

Ingredients, if you have fresh tomatoes, etc. use the by all means!

• Lucky number 7 large yellow onions

• 4 to 6 fresh chilies, I prefer poblano if you can find them. Anaheims are also good but it will take 10 to 12.

• 1 head fresh garlic

• 3 large cans crushed tomatoes

• 3 large cans chopped tomatoes

• 3 cans white beans, I prefer Great Northern

• 3 cans black beans

• 2 cans Rotel habanero

• 2 bottles of Corona beer, 1 for the chili, 1 for the chef (until the cooking is done)

• 3 ounces of chili powder

• 2 ounces garlic powder

• 2 ounces onion powder

• 1 ounce ground cumin

• 1/4 cup of turbinado sugar (adds another dimension to the flavor)

• 3-4 tablespoons of good olive oil

For garnish:

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro

• 3-4 large jalapeno peppers

• Fresh Mexican oregano if you can find it - super aromatic

Coarsely chop the onions making sure that the root end is more finely chopped to avoid toughness.  In a large skillet or wok sauté the onions until they are clear.  Remove 3/4 of the onions and gently sauté the remainder until they are starting to caramelize.  This adds a second flavor to the chili which is sweeter.

While the onions are sautéing, roast the poblano chilies over an open flame turning then until the skin is blistered on all sides.  I set them right on the gas range burners and use tongs to turn them.

When done set the chilies aside and let them cool.  If you have tender hands, you might want to use rubber or plastic gloves to hold the chilies while you scrape off the skin.  I use a dinner fork. Cut the stem end off the chilies and pull the seed core.  If the seeds are mild, you can add them to the ingredients.  If they are hot, I recommend setting them aside. You can use them as a side dish for folks who like more heat. You can also feed them to your chickens if you want them to lay poached eggs.  Coarsely chop the chilies into roughly postage stamp size.

The cilantro and jalapenos are for garnish.  Do not add them to the pot!!  You can always add heat but you can't take it out.  If you make a really hot chili for a cook off, your chili will be judged last because the heat warps the pallet for a while.  The way the recipe is written you will have a little noticeable heat at the end of the first taste.

Add all of the ingredients other than the beef to the big pot including the liquid from the beans and Rotel.  Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently to make sure you do not scorch the tomatoes at the bottom of the pot.  I let mine simmer for about 30 minutes and then turn off the heat, put the lid on.  I cook mine in the evening and let it sit on the stove overnight.  Fire it up again in the morning for about 30 minute or before serving.

To Meat or Not to Meat?

You notice I did not say anything about adding the meat to the pot yet?  If you want a great vegetarian chili, add a can or two of corn (or fresh or frozen corn equivalent) and a can or two of green beans (or fresh or frozen equivalent) and/or garbanzos and you have a very tasty and nutritious meatless dish.

If you have veggie family members or friends set aside part of the chili before you add any other veggie ingredients.

Then, if you are adding your hand shredded chuck to the chili, also add all of the liquid in the roasting pan minus any fat you can skim off when the liquid is cooled.

The Importance of Texture and Color

Most chili you see and eat looks like ground beef in sauce with maybe a few beans and bits of onion visible?  Sunshine Chili has terrific texture if you have followed my recommendations.  It also has engaging color, one of the reasons I prefer black and white beans rather than kidney or pinto beans which are too much the color of the broth.

A frequent remark from folks attending the cook off: this looks different, this looks interesting, etc. and also wow on the taste and texture.

Let me know how it works out.  This is in my humble opinion some mighty fine eating, with our without the meat.  You can also use meat other than beef.  Be creative, that's half the fun of cooking chili.