Paul's signature three meat chili

   I told Pamela I would put up my three meat chili recipe for her recipe journal. Here it is, Pam, cut and paste to your heart's content.
   A word of caution. Like the pirate's code, this is really more like a set of guidelines. If you need your recipes to have exact measurements for every ingredient, and directions timed down to the second, you won't like this recipe. I kinda make this stuff up as I go, and no two batches are ever exactly alike. However, if you consider cooking to be an adventure, rather than a chore, give this a try, and let me know how yours turns out.

Ingredients:
Beef, Pork, Chicken. Whatever type suits your fancy. You can buy it all pre ground, or you can buy cuts of meat, and chop it yourself. I usually buy some good stewing veal, or a small steak, and chop it into cubes about 1/4 inch per side. For pork, I buy mild Italian sausage, and for chicken, boneless, skinless breast. Experiment, and find your own favourite cuts. For a pot of chili to serve three to four people, I start with about 1/3 of a pound of beef, two large sausages, and one large chicken breast.
Fresh Garlic- three or four cloves (or more if you like garlic) We have it fresh from the garden right now.
Sweet onion- I use one of those big red ones, or big white ones.
Fresh Tomatoes- two to four, depending on the size of the tomato, and the size of the pot.
Fresh tomato sauce- this is kinda the tough part. We jar our own sauce every fall. You can't buy this stuff at Wegman's or A&P. A small jar or a large jar. Depends on how big a batch you are making, and how many tomatoes you used.
Olive oil and butter.
Salt and pepper, cumin and chili powder. Chili powder has cumin in it, but not enough for my taste, so I add a little bit extra.
optional- hot chili pepper (again, fresh from the garden in my case) Depending on how hot you want it, either strip the seeds, or leave them in (seeds in=hotter).
Red Kidney beans. We don't grow these, I get them in a can at the grocery store.
Some kind of vegetable. Carrots work well. I like cauliflower. Zucchini will work, but it's a bit finicky. You have to add it late or it will over soften, and it releases water, which will add to your cooking time. Mushrooms will also release water, making your chili take longer to reduce. Experiment.
One small lime. Absolutely do not leave this step out. It's the lime that makes my signature chili my signature chili.
Beer- something interesting, hopefully. No Budweiser, or other adjunct laden, macro brewery crap. I have a friend who swears by Schlenkerla Smokebeer for chili. I haven't tried cooking chili with that one, but I did taste it once, and I won't be making that mistake again. I like a dark ale, but not a stout or porter. Pale Ales, or IPAs work as well. Too much hops may make the chili bitter, though, so avoid the real hop bombs for cooking. Later maybe...
Cheddar Cheese.
Crusty Bread.

Directions:
   Strip only the driest outer shell from the garlic cloves, leaving some of the paper-like wrapping. Brush lightly with olive oil, and place on a baking stone in the BBQ, or oven at about 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. When it is done, you will be able to pop the softened garlic cloves out of their skin easily. If they are not slightly mushy, they're not done. If they're like softened butter, they're overdone. Put roasted garlic aside for now.
   Chop onions. I like to leave them in thin pieces about 2-3 inches long. Add a little bit of olive oil and a small dollop of butter to a pan and saute the onions on low medium heat. You want them to caramelize, but not burn. I take them off a little before they would actually be considered caramelized because everything will be cooked more in the pot later.
   Place the sausages in a small pan, and cover halfway with beer. Don't drink the rest of the beer yet, we might need it later. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook sausages about 3-4 minutes each side. They don't need to be fully cooked, as they will cook more later in the pot. They just need to be done enough to hold together when you slice them. Cut into thin slices, place in a bowl for later.
   Cut beef into small cubes, add a little bit of olive oil to a small pan and heat until the meat will sizzle vigorously when added. Add beef and brown quickly. Remove beef from pan and put in bowl with pork. Wipe pan down with a paper towel.
   Cube chicken (I like to cut it slightly larger than the beef, about 1/2 inch cubes). Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan, and cook chicken until there is no morepink showing on the outside. Cook the chicken at a slightly lower temperature as it tends to get too brown at high heat. Put in bowl with the other meat.
   Chop tomatoes into one to two inch cubes.
   Put a pot on low medium heat. Add onions. When onions begin to sizzle gently, add meat, and mix all three meats together with onions. Add roasted garlic, and hot pepper, if you are using it. Salt and pepper to taste. Some people add the chili powder now, as well, but I prefer to save it for later.
   When the meat and onions are well mixed, and all gently sizzling, add chopped tomatoes. If the tomatoes have a lot of fluid in them, I let this mixture reduce a little bit. If not, I add the fresh tomato sauce immediately. Heat on low medium to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally.
   Add kidney beans. If mixture in the pot already has too much moisture, I strain the beans. If more water is needed, I don't. At this point, if more moisture is needed, add some of the left over beer. If not, drink the beer. Continue to heat at a very gentle boil, stirring occasionally as it reduces.
   Adding the vegetables requires some experience. Some need to cook longer, some less so. Estimate how much longer the chili will need to cook to reduce to the desired consistency, and add the vegetables so they will be properly cooked when chili is sufficiently reduced. There's nothing worse than over cooked veggies. I like to add the cumin and chili powder when I estimate there is about 15-20 minutes cooking time left.
   Zest lime. Be careful to only keep the green zest. Don't get any of the inner white part of the rind, as it will make your chili very bitter in a heartbeat. Slice remaining lime, and cut off what is left of the rind, again, making sure to get rid of all the white peel. Add zest and lime pulp to chili.
   When the chili has reduced to the desired consistency, spoon into a bowl, top with grated cheddar cheese, and serve with crusty bread, and a nice hoppy ale (I recommend Cameron's Auburn Ale).