Rick Anderson’s Firehouse Chili was perfected from some twenty years of firehouse cooking and originally made without beans according to Western Chili Cook-off rules. Rick added the beans because the guys at work liked it that way.
Rick’s 1st Place Trophy Winning Firehouse Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound steak (1 inch squares)
- 1 pound hot pork sausage
- 2 cups black coffee
- 1-40 ounce can of beer (1/2 for the chili, 1/2 for the cook) no lite beer!)
- 2 large minced garlic cloves
- 1 large chopped onion
- 1 chopped bell pepper
- 4 large dried pasilla peppers
- 6 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, (or 1 teaspoon coriander if you cannot find cilantro)
- 2 14 oz cans stewed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon lime-juice
- 1 small can black beans
- 1 small can pinto beans
- 1 small can re-fried beans
- 1 small can pork n beans
Directions
- Place pasilla peppers in a small skillet, cover with water and simmer until soft. Take the peppers from the skillet (save the water). Let peppers cool slightly then remove seeds and cut into small pieces.
- Crumble sausage into a skillet and allow to simmer. Turn over the sausage and continue cooking until the meat browns. Drain the meat into a strainer to eliminate excess grease and oil. If desired, pat dry with a paper towel to further remove grease.
- Place a small amount of cooking oil in a large stove-top cooking pot. Over medium heat quick-sear the steak.
- Sauté garlic and onions in skillet.
- Add all ingredients to the large cooking pot; including the saved pasilla-pepper water (about 1/2 cup) and the thoroughly cooked sausage.
- Cook slowly until mix starts to boil.
- Turn off heat and let stand for about an hour.
Serve with your favorite toppings.