Brisket Chili

Brisket Chili hands down is my new go to chili… period. I said it. I mean it. I am standing by it.

Brisket Chili… your new favorite chili

Being a Texas girl I have had my fair share of chili and I have made my fair share as well. I have made simple ground beef chili, steak chili, chicken chili and now Brisket Chili. I had heard about this type of chili for years from a friend of mine, but never made attempted to make it, until now.

So why now? Well I make chili every Halloween for my families Halloween party and this year I wanted to make something a little extra special. So the weekend of Halloween I decided to smoke my first brisket (thats a whole story) and take some of it and make brisket chili. Oh I am so, so glad I did.

Unlike any other chili

The base of this chili is unlike any other chili I have ever had. My recipe is inspired from this Bon Appetit recipe, but with my own twist on it. First important change I made was I did not use butternut squash in the chili… I mean I am from Texas we do not use beans or squash in chili EVER! Secondly I used already cooked brisket, I like the smoked flavor it adds. Lastly I adjusted seasoning and added a few extra things here and there.

The one thing I did use straight from the recipe was the base of it… ancho chilis and bacon. Yep… ancho chilies, and let me tell you they make this chili AMAZING! Let’s not forget the bacon, everything is better with bacon.

Cook it ahead…

I say this about any chili, but I always make it a day or so ahead before I serve it. I do this for a few reasons. First, I love how the flavors come together the longer they sit together as they cook and then cool and then get warmed again. Secondly, I like to be able to take my time to get the seasoning just right, especially when making a new chili recipe.

The beauty of this recipe is that honestly the longer it sits the better it gets. By the time I served it the brisket literally melted in your mouth and all the flavors came together perfectly. Oh, just thinking about it, makes me want to make it again.

Also when you cook it ahead it gives you time to get all the yummy toppings together and make this AMAZING cornbread.