Smoky red chicken chili
A thick brick-red chili with browned ground chicken, black beans, red pepper, tomato, chipotle, and smoked paprika.
Research-based original adaptation informed by What's Gaby Cooking's smoky chipotle chicken chili, with metric recalibration and Health Canada safety guidance
Ingredients
Written for a 6 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Chili
- 30 ml olive oil rounded
- 200 g yellow onion, diced rounded
- 180 g red bell pepper, diced into 1 cm pieces rounded
- 3 garlic, finely chopped rounded
- 700 g ground chicken rounded
- 40 g tomato paste rounded
- 800 g crushed tomatoes rounded
- 480 g black beans or small red beans, drained rounded
- 500 ml low-sodium chicken broth rounded
- 35 g canned chipotle in adobo, chile and sauce finely chopped rounded
- 16 g mild North American chili powder blend rounded
- 5 g ground cumin rounded
- 5 g smoked paprika rounded
- 2 g dried oregano rounded
- 7 g fine salt, divided rounded
- 30 ml lime juice rounded
Method
- Keep raw chicken and its board, utensils, and plate separate from ready-to-eat food. Wash hands and sanitize contact surfaces. Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Cook onion, red pepper, and half the salt for 7 to 9 minutes until translucent and beginning to brown.
- Add the ground chicken. Break it into 1 to 2 cm crumbles and brown for 7 to 9 minutes; do not leave meatball-sized clumps.
- Add garlic, tomato paste, chili blend, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and chipotle. Stir 60 to 90 seconds until the paste darkens and the spices smell toasted, not burnt.
- Add tomatoes and broth, scraping up the fond, then stir in the beans. Simmer uncovered for 22 to 28 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until a spoon leaves a trail for 2 seconds.
- Check several dense chicken clusters reach 74°C. Stir in lime and adjust salt only after reduction. Rest 10 minutes.
Ingredient substitutions
- Canned chipotle in adobo is preferred. In Germany, replace 35 g with 4 g ground chipotle, 16 g tomato paste, and 15 ml water; it is smoother and less vinegary. In Canada, canned adobo is common, or soak and mince dried chipotle with tomato paste and soaking liquid.
- In Germany ask for Hähnchenhack or pulse well-chilled boneless thigh briefly in a food processor. Ready-cooked chicken is not equivalent and will not brown the same. Ground chicken is common in Canada.
- For the 16 g mild blend in Germany use 9 g sweet paprika, 2 g ancho, 2 g garlic powder, 2 g onion powder, and 1 g oregano. Canadian supermarket chili powder is usually a blend, but check that it is not pure hot chile.
Notes
- Broth and adobo may contain gluten or soy. Sour cream or Cheddar toppings add milk.
- Scaling above 1.5 times requires a larger pot and browning in batches.
- Cool promptly in uncovered shallow containers no deeper than 5 cm. Refrigerate once active steaming stops and within 2 hours; cover cold, keep at 4°C or below, and use within 3 days.
- Freeze cooled portions with 2 cm headspace for up to 3 months. Thaw refrigerated or reheat gently from frozen with broth. Reheat only what is needed, bring to a rolling boil, and heat every part to 74°C. Discard food left out over 2 hours or uneaten after reheating. Store toppings separately.
Sources consulted
- What’s Gaby Cooking: Smoky Chipotle Chicken Chili
- Health Canada: Safe internal cooking temperatures
- Health Canada: Food safety tips for leftovers
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer