Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Ground Beef
• 1-1 1/2 lbs Thick Cut Bacon
• 1-1 1/2 lbs Skirt Steak or Flank Steak
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
• 4 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp onion powder
• 4 tsp cajun seasoning
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 tsp salt
• 3 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 40-46 oz tomato juice
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 1 can chilis in adobo sauce
• Shredded Cheese
• Sour Cream
• 1 Lime
• 2 tbsp Cilantro
• Fritos

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the bacon on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet with aluminum foil on the bottom. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes till crispy. Reserve some of the bacon grease. Chop up the bacon into small pieces.
3. Start browning the ground beef over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven with 2 tbsp of olive oil until no longer pink. Season ground beef with 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp Cajun seasoning and 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
4. Season the steak on both sides with the remaining garlic powder, onion powder, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.
5. Add about 1 tbsp of the reserved bacon grease into a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the skirt steak into the bacon grease and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Let rest for a few minutes and then cut up into small cubes (~1cm).
6. When ground beef is done remove from pan, leaving the drippings in the Dutch Oven. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeno to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until veggies are soft.
7. Remove the Dutch Oven from the heat and add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
8. Add the ground beef, steak and bacon back into the pot with the veggies.
9. Add in about 40oz of the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce to the veggie-meat mixture.
10. In a blender add half of the chilis in adobo sauce and a splash of the tomato juice and blend. Add mixture into the Dutch Oven. If the chili could use more heat, repeat this step adding a little more of the chilis in adobo sauce to a blender with tomato juice until heat level is achieved. I find half the can of chilis of adobo sauce is usually a good starting point.
11. Bring the chili to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-3 hours. If you would like to do this step in slow cooker, cook on low for 7-8 hours.
12. Chili can be eaten right after cooking but I find cooking it 1-2 days before serving and letting it rest in the fridge really builds the flavor. After the 1-2 days in the fridge, reheating on the stove on medium for 1-2 hours or in a slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours brings it back up to temperature for serving.
13. Serve with cilanto, cheese, sour cream, lime and jalapeno fritos (or regular fritos if jalapeno flavored is not available).

Notes:

• I tend to follow the base of the above recipe but like to customize it and encourage others to too. The last time I made this the butcher had thick cut jalapeno bacon and I had a BBQ Rub seasoning I used on the steak instead.
• I highly encourage the 1-2 day resting period.
• The key to good chili is good meat, I would highly suggest going to a local butcher premium meat grocery story as this really makes the difference.