Duane Paul's BBQ Chili

Duane Paul’s BBQ Chili
Original recipe. Serves about 6.

This chili is built around our sauce’s layered profile: molasses sweetness, tomato body, hickory smoke, a little mustard/vinegar snap, and a late cayenne heat. Don’t dump a whole jar in at the start or it will flatten. Use it in two stages.

Ingredients

• 2 lb ground beef (80/20) or 1½ lb beef + ½ lb hot Italian sausage
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeño, minced (seeds in if you want more heat)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup beef broth
• ⅔ cup Duane Paul’s BBQ Sauce, divided
• 1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Optional: ½ cup strong coffee or dark beer for extra depth

Method

1. Brown the meat in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Break it up and cook until well browned, not gray. Drain off most of the fat, leaving about 1 Tbsp.
2. Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño. Cook 6–8 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic for 1 minute.
3. Add chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Toast the spices 30–45 seconds.
4. Stir in tomato paste and cook 2 minutes until it darkens a little.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, broth, ⅓ cup of the BBQ sauce, beans, and coffee or beer if using. Scrape the bottom of the pot.
6. Bring to a simmer, then drop the heat low. Cover partly and cook 35–45 minutes, stirring now and then, until it thickens and the flavors settle.
7. Stir in the remaining ⅓ cup BBQ sauce and the vinegar. Simmer 5 more minutes uncovered. Taste. Add salt if it needs it, or a pinch of cayenne if you want the heat to sit higher.

How to serve

Bowl it with shredded cheddar, sour cream or pickled onions, and cornbread. The late addition of the sauce keeps the smoke, mustard, and molasses from cooking away.

If you want it thicker for nachos or baked potatoes, simmer uncovered another 10 minutes. If you want it milder, skip the jalapeño seeds and use only ½ cup total sauce.