Chili is the one dish every football town agrees on, and the one that forgives a parking lot: it's better made the day before, it holds hot for hours in a wrapped pot, and one pot feeds 10. The four pots here share one method, so learn it once and pick by crowd: beef and black bean, rotisserie chicken, white bean and pork, or BBQ pork with pulled pork and barbecue sauce stirred in. Here it is: brown the meat, bloom the spices in the fat, add the tomatoes and beans, simmer low, and let it rest overnight.
At the lot: Two or three pots make a chili flight. Homegating: Keep the pots on warm all game.
Home gear: a heavy 7- to 8-quart pot with a lid (6 quarts is enough for the BBQ pork pot), shallow containers for chilling, a ladle and an instant-read thermometer
1¾ HRS
At home, the day before
15 MIN
At the lot
10
Feeds per pot
Ingredients
Beef and black bean
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp chipotle chile powder (½ tsp for mild)
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (28 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 3 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Rotisserie chicken
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans (15 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 store-bought rotisserie chickens, skin and bones removed, meat shredded (about 7 cups)
- 1½ tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
White bean and pork
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2½ lb ground pork
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
- 4 cans (15 oz each) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
BBQ pork
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 chipotle in adobo, minced, plus 1 tbsp of the sauce
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans (15 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 lb cooked pulled pork, unsauced (about 3 cups)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Kosher salt, to taste
Toppings
- 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar for the beef, chicken and BBQ pork pots, Monterey Jack for the white bean pot)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced
- 2 limes, cut in wedges
- 1 large bag tortilla chips or corn chips
Serve
- 10 bowls, spoons and napkins per pot
Steps
At home, the day before: the base method
- Brown or soften. Brown the meat (or, for chicken, just the vegetables) in oil in a heavy 7- to 8-quart pot over medium-high heat.
- Toast the spices. Stir the spices and any tomato paste into the hot fat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until they smell toasty. This is where the flavor comes from, so don't skip it.
- Add the liquids and beans. Pour in the tomatoes or broth and the beans, scrape the bottom clean and bring it to a boil.
- Simmer low. Turn it down to a gentle simmer, partly covered, and stir up from the bottom every 15 minutes so it doesn't scorch. Add a splash of broth if it gets too thick.
- Season, then cool fast. Taste and adjust the salt and acid at the end. Split it into shallow containers 2 inches deep or less and refrigerate within 2 hours. It keeps 3 to 4 days.
Beef and black bean
- Brown the beef in the oil in 2 batches, breaking it up, until no pink is left and it reads 160°F, about 8 minutes a batch. Spoon off most of the fat. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 8 minutes, with the garlic for the last minute.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, chipotle and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, broth and salt. Bring it to a boil, then simmer partly covered for about 1 hour.
- Stir in the lime juice, taste for salt and cool it in shallow containers.
Rotisserie chicken
- Cook the onions and poblanos in the oil until soft, about 8 minutes, with the garlic for the last minute.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, pinto beans, corn, broth and salt. Bring it to a boil, then simmer partly covered for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken and simmer 10 minutes more, until the pot reads 165°F. Stir in the vinegar, taste for salt and cool it in shallow containers. Use the chickens the day you buy them.
White bean and pork
- Brown the pork in the oil in 2 batches, breaking it up, until no pink is left and it reads 160°F, about 8 minutes a batch. Spoon off all but 2 tbsp of the fat. Add the onions, poblanos and jalapeño and cook until soft, about 8 minutes, with the garlic for the last minute.
- Stir in the cumin, oregano and coriander and cook for 1 minute. Add the green chiles.
- Mash 1 can's worth of the beans with a fork and add them with the whole beans, broth and salt. The mashed beans thicken it, so there's no cream or flour. Bring it to a boil, then simmer partly covered for 45 minutes.
- Stir in the lime juice, taste for salt and cool it in shallow containers. Keep the cilantro separate and add it at serving so it stays green.
BBQ pork
- Brown the ground pork in the oil, breaking it up, until no pink is left and it reads 160°F, about 6 minutes. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 6 minutes, with the garlic for the last minute.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and chipotle and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, pinto and kidney beans, barbecue sauce, broth and adobo sauce. Bring it to a simmer, then simmer uncovered on low for 45 minutes, stirring now and then so the barbecue sauce doesn't catch.
- Stir in the pulled pork and vinegar and simmer 10 minutes more. Taste for salt and cool it in shallow containers.
Game morning
- Put the chili back in the pot with a splash of water or broth and reheat it over medium-low, stirring often (the BBQ pork pot most of all), until it reads 165°F. Heat it on the stove, not from cold in a slow cooker, which warms too slowly to bring it up safely.
- Pack it hot: either in insulated food jugs, or the lidded pot wrapped in a towel inside a cooler you've warmed with a kettle of hot water for 10 minutes (pour the water out first). The toppings go in the cold cooler.
At the lot
- Check the chili before you serve: it should read 140°F or above. If it has dropped below that and your lot allows a flame, bring it back to 165°F in the pot on a camp stove or over charcoal.
- Stir in the cilantro (pork pot) and set out the toppings next to the pot.
Pack for the lot
How do you keep chili hot at a tailgate?
Every pot gets reheated to 165°F on the stove at home on game morning and packed hot. What happens next depends on what your lot allows, so check your stadium guide first.
- No flames allowed (garages and plenty of college lots): carry it in insulated food jugs, or the lidded pot wrapped in a towel inside an empty cooler you've warmed with hot water. Open it only to serve, and it holds for about 2 hours.
- Charcoal only: set the lidded pot on the grate over an even layer of ashed-over coals and stir it up from the bottom every 15 minutes. The BBQ pork pot scorches first, so give it the cooler side.
- Propane allowed: a camp stove or burner on its lowest flame holds the pot all afternoon. Bring a full tank.
- Any lot: it needs to stay at 140°F or above. If it's dropped below that and you can't reheat it, serve it within 2 hours (1 on a hot day) and toss the rest. The full rules are in how to keep food hot at a tailgate.
Pick your pot
- Beef and black bean: the one to make if you only make one. Fire-roasted tomatoes and chipotle, smoky more than hot, finished with lime.
- Rotisserie chicken: the fastest, since the chicken is already cooked, and lighter for a noon kickoff.
- White bean and pork: green chiles, cumin and lime, no tomato. The pot for a crowd that's had a lot of red chili this season.
- BBQ pork: ground pork plus pulled pork, with barbecue sauce and a chipotle in the pot. Sweet and smoky, and the best use there is for barbecue leftovers.
For the classic beef, kidney and pinto pot that feeds 16, see our big-batch chili. For chili over spaghetti, see Cincinnati chili.
The beans argument
Texas chili, the bowl of red, is meat and dried chiles and nothing else, and plenty of Texans will tell you that anything with beans in it is a different dish. Most of the rest of the country puts beans in and doesn't think twice. All four pots here have beans, because beans stretch a pot to feed 10 for the price of a few cans and soak up the spice while the chili sits overnight. If your crew is Texas-style about it, make the beef pot without the black beans and add another pound of beef. The spices and the timing stay the same, and nobody at the table has to concede anything.
Lot notes
- Toppings cold: the cheese and sour cream stay in the cooler or on a tray of ice until the chili is served, on the same 2-hour clock as the chili.
- Cleanup: fill the empty pot with hot water while you eat. Chili scrubs out easily wet and badly dry.
Can you make chili the day before a tailgate?
Yes, and all four of these are better for it. Cook it up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it in shallow containers. Reheat it on the stove on game morning, not from cold in a slow cooker, which warms too slowly to bring it up safely.
Can you make chili with rotisserie chicken?
Rotisserie chicken is already cooked, so the chicken pot skips browning and simmers about 30 minutes in all. Stir the shredded meat in near the end so it doesn't turn stringy, and use the chickens the day you buy them.
Can you put pulled pork in chili?
Stir in cooked, unsauced pulled pork for the last 10 minutes so it stays in shreds instead of falling apart. That's the BBQ pork pot: ground pork browned for the base, barbecue sauce in with the tomatoes, and a splash of cider vinegar at the end so it doesn't taste too sweet.
How much chili do you need for 20 people?
Plan on about 1½ cups each, or 30 cups. That's 2 pots: make one recipe twice, or 2 different ones for a chili flight. Doubling a single recipe needs a 12-quart pot, so 2 separate pots are simpler.
Not cooked by us yet.
