Chili, Beer, and Fall…

Chili, beer, and fall: a classic seasonal culinary trifecta. The combination of chili and beer in the fall complements the change of seasons–the cool breezes and the rich colors of trees preparing for the coming winter. Chili is also a fantastic dish to showcase one key method for using beer in cooking. It also allows for a number of beer pairings.

Chili allows you to experiment greatly with ingredients and flavor combinations. For example, two very different types of chili are Cincinnati and Texas styles. My chili recipe (at least the base recipe) is more in the Texas style because it has ingredients such as chili powder and tomato sauce. Cincinnati chili uses a larger combination of spices, such as allspice and cloves; whereas Texas chili stays more simple with its flavors of chili powder and cumin. Cincinnati chili is also traditionally served over spaghetti.

I have tried a number of different recipes for chili over the years, and I now work with one base recipe. My chili recipe with which I experiment is Rachael Ray’s Indian Summer Turkey Chili. I like the use of ground turkey and the simple ingredients. As such, this recipe allows for a range of possibilities when it comes to trying new flavors. I usually keep the onion and bell peppers, but I can change the type of onion (red or white) and the type of pepper. I usually don’t add corn, and my mood will determine whether or not I add black beans.

Other ways to play with this recipe:

combine different types of chili powders, such as chipotle, ancho, and traditional medium red chili powder. I use Penzeys spices, and they have a nice selection of chili powders.
add garlic (usually minced) or garlic powder
add diced chili peppers, such as jalapeno, Anaheim, or poblano. My favorite is serrano because it still has heat but is not as pungent as jalapeno.
add pureed chili peppers. You can do this by reconstituting dried chili peppers, such as guajillo, ancho, or chipotle, and pureeing them with some olive oil or beer. Again, Penzeys has a good selection of dried chili peppers, and many grocery stores are now carrying them.
add herbs such as cilantro, flat leaf parsley, or epazote
do not add the barbeque sauce
use a combination of meats, such as ground turkey and ground sirloin, or simply use all ground sirloin

One of the areas of the recipe that is the most fun with which to experiment is the use of beer. Chili recipes allow you to use beer in cooking to add flavor but also to serve a practical function: deglazing. In this recipe, as in others that call for the use of beer (or wine in some recipes), you use the alcohol to release the bits that have hardened to the bottom of the pot. After the meat and vegetables have cooked, they will often stick to the bottom of the pan, and the alcohol from the beer allows you to add those rich flavors back into the chili while also infusing the dish with the flavors of the beer.

For this recipe, when I make it during the fall, I look forward to adding seasonal beers. Right now, my favorite is Dogfish Head’s Punkin’ Ale. The spiciness of the beer complements whatever spice combination I use in the chili, and pumpkin itself is a great partner for any spicy foods. Other seasonal beers that would work are Heavy Seas The Greater Pumpkin, Southern Tier’s Pumpking, and Smuttynose’s Pumpkin Ale (Beer Advocate has a great list of pumpkin ales). These pumpkin beers also pair well with chili.

When seasonal beers aren’t available, I typically lean towards milder IPAs, brown ales (Dogfish Head’s Indian Brown Ale works wonderfully), porters (i.e. Smuttynose Robust Porter or Stone Smoked Porter), stouts (Stone’s Imperial Russian Stout or Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout, for example) or others beers that would complement the chili’s flavors, such as Rogue’s Chipotle Ale or Stone’s Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers.

One rule to always follow when cooking with beer: use a beer that you would drink (this is the same concept when cooking with wine). And the myth that all of the alcohol cooks off is just that, a myth. Most of the alcohol will cook off, but some does stay behind, just not enough to impair your driving.

When pairing beer with a spicy dish such as chili, it helps to keep a few simple food & beer pairing rules in mind. First, sweet and malty beers will balance with spicy foods, so if you want to keep the spiciness at bay then choose more malty beers like Belgian style dark ales (Dogfish Head’s Raison d’Etre or Lagunitas’ Nuevo Noir) or doppelbocks (Ayinger Celebrator or Troegs Troegenator). Second, hoppy beers emphasize the spiciness; therefore, if you want to feel the heat then grab an extra hoppy beer, such as Stone’s Double Dry Hopped Ruination, 21st Amendment’s Hop Crisis, or Moylan’s Hopsickle. I enjoy the subtle heat and smokiness of this chili, so I will often select one of the many hoppy beers that I keep on hand, like Southern Tier’s Double IPA or Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute Ale.

Regardless of what style of chili you select, this dish is a great meal for beer, in and out of the pot.

Michelle Park is a self proclaimed food geek and can be found on Twitter at @foodgeek14. This is her first guest post for Ladies of Craft Beer.

Featured photo courtesy of: http://www.squidoo.com/worlds_best_chili