Hanging Kettle Chili Cookoff - Young America, MN

I was fortunate enough this past Monday to compete in and win the 2009 Hanging Kettle Chili Cookoff. To say the competition was fierce may be a bit of an understatement, but I reigned supreme none the less. Although the fame and glory that go along with such a coveted title are enough to satisfy my ego, I was lucky enough to win an 8-day Mexican vacation as well. As it turned out the whole contest was a clever ruse to attract unsuspecting entrants and chili enthusiasts into a pyramid travel scheme. After a presentation that did not meet the promise of brief or exciting the judges decisions were issued. I quickly left before the promise of cheap travel and a second income looked too good to pass up. Here is the recipe, to the best of my memory...

• 1lb beef chuck - cubed (about 1/2")

• 1lb pork loin - cubed

• 1/2lb smoked bacon - diced

• 1 medium yellow onion - diced

• 2 Chayote squash (pitted) - diced

• 3 Poblano peppers (seeded) - diced

• 1 cup black beans - cooked

• 1 cup navy beans - cooked

• 1 cup pinto beans - cooked

• 1 quart fire-roasted tomatoes - diced (canned is fine, I prefer to make my own)

• 1 16oz can coconut milk

• 1 12oz can tomato paste

• 1 pub can Guinness draught

• 1 cup chili paste*

- In a large stockpot start by browning the beef, pork, bacon on medium/high heat. Add onion, squash, and peppers, cook until onions are translucent. reduce heat to low/medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, slowly bring chili to a boil and simmer until beef and pork are fall apart tender (salt/pepper to taste). The chili can be served immediately or even better if chilled overnight and re-heated. This makes a pretty large batch, invite some friends over and enjoy *in a food processor: dried Ancho chilis, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, cilantro, ginger root, Serrano peppers, lime juice, cumin, hot Hungarian paprika, brown sugar. (there are many varieties of pre-made chili paste that would work just fine as well)