Colin loves anything hot and spicy. He has collections of hot sauces in the cabinets and the refrigerator. We even bought him a special plate with sauce cups and he uses hot sauce every time he gets the chance.No wonder he loves chili, then. We had bison chili at Montana Joe's in Durham, North Carolina recently and that combination - buffalo and heat - is right up Colin's alley.
So today, I taught Colin how to make bison chili at home. The ground bison at BJ's Wholesale Club is about $3.50 a pound which is pretty good because it's sweet, delicious and low in fat. The finished chili has a bite though. Cut the chili powders if you need to.
Colin's Bison Chili
First, coarsely chop 1/2 cup of onion and cook it in 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large soup pot. Let it cook on medium for about 10 minutes. Brown the bison and 1-1/2 tsp. black pepper.
Mix together 1-1/2 T. salt, 1-1/2 T. dried basil, 1-1/2 T. dried oregano, 2 beef bouillon cubes, 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa, 2 T. sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 2 T. chili power and 1 T. chipotle chili powder, 2 T. cumin, 2 T. paprika and 1/2 tsp. coriander.
Mince 1 Tablespoon of garlic. Measure 1/8 cup Dijon mustard. Open 1 large can of tomatoes and 2 smaller cans of chopped tomatoes (we used the kind with chilis in them.) Measure 1/2 cup of tomato paste. Juice 1/2 lemon, measure 1/4 cup red wine.
Cook 1/2 yellow, red and green diced peppers in oil until still firm and set aside until the end..
Add the seasonings to the browned bison. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on medium for about an hour. Drain two large cans of red kidney beans. Add to the chili. Add the cooked peppers.
Let sit together for 1/2 hour and serve. Top with sliced avocado, sliced black olives, grated cheeses, fresh cilantro and sour cream!
