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Cause its chili season!!
And it’s Thursday, which means football, which just means GOOD food!
Which also means, SMILE!!
Gosh, I love Thursday. It’s almost always a good day. I mean, it’s basically the weekend, so that just makes the whole mood of the day a million times better, you know? Also, Thursdays during the fall mean football, which means cozy football food for dinner. Reason number 1,444,444,333 why I love fall to pieces!!
Ok, so I promised I would not bore you with my excitement over fall today.
SOO…let’s talk about the important things in life. Things like that new little black cat of mine, Snape. Remember, I talked all about him on Monday. He’s currently chillin right next to me. He likes to squeeze into the tightest places possible and be EXTRA close to me. It’s the best, I kind of love having the little guy by my side all day. While I work in the kitchen, he hangs out collecting scraps off the floor, then he gets tired and sleeps under my shooting table. While I work at my desk, he’s either on my lap or right beside me in my chair. And when we sleep, well he literally sleeps on top of me. Basically the little guy likes to be in touch at all times. Again, it’s the best.
OK, but the problem?!? He is SO small that I keep trapping him places. Like in cabinets, the bathroom…the fridge…don’t ask. I am also deathly afraid of crushing him, like he is TINY!
I promise photos. Do you want a whole dedicated post, or just a few snaps?? Let me know!
In other important news, my right hand brother Kai is headed off to school on Saturday and I am beyond sad. I have been working him hard, having him do some filming things and such for the blog…hoping to show you guys soon!!
But really, life is alway more fun when this kid is around, so I am so sad to seem him head off to school. BUT very excited that he is headed off to LA. That means warm Cali visits and lots of shopping with Caitlin (his girlfriend).
YES.
Most important news though?? This crockpot carne asada beer chili!!
It’s actually kind of funny though, because I can’t really take full credit for this idea. See, a while back I asked my oldest brother Creighton if he had any ideas for some fall themed football recipes (his favorite) and of course he responded – chili. Thing is, he likes chili from the packet, so he asked his friends and one of them (hi Tom!) suggested a Carne Asada Chili. I think this was one of the first times I ever asked Creigh for a recipe idea that I came away with one I actually liked.
I was pumped, I mean, carne asada chili? Sounds pretty awesome!!
So I was sold and literally made it the next day.
This is just like a carne asada taco, but in chili form. Which I’m actually thinking I like better. I know, what?!? But this is just SO good, plus it’s so easy! The meat gets slow cooked all day, then topped with seasoned baked potato wedges and basically every other topping you can think of!
Hello, avocado, jalapeños, cheddar cheese, grilled corn, green onions, FRITOS and maybe even some sour cream or greek yogurt, if you’re into it!
And there you go, that’s your bowl of carne asada chili!!
YUMMERS!!
*Lastly, for those of you who saw the note at the end of my post yesterday, I want to you to know that your efforts to contact Pinterest on my behalf of my issue worked! Pinterest finally contacted me to let me know that we have been removed from their blacklist. They apologized for the inconvenience and said, “Occasionally good websites get caught in the mix when we’re looking for spammy sites. This shouldn’t happen again, however, please let us know if it does”.  Thank you all for being such AWESOME loyal readers. You have no idea how much this means to me. đ Tieghan
Crockpot Carne Asada Beer Chili.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 747 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carne asada meat or flank steak
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- a good pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 (28 ounce) can fired roasted diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons apple butter
- 1 (12 ounce) beer
- 4-6 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1-2 ( 14 ounce) cans pinto and or black beans, rinsed or drained
- sliced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, Fritos, grilled corn, limes, sliced jalapenos + fresh cilantro, for topping
Seasoned Potato Wedges
- 4 russet potatoes, cut into wedges
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 tablespoon honey
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy bottomed skillet, grill pan or grill to high heat.
- Rub the steak all over with olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Sear the meat on both sides until, light char marks appear, about 3 minutes. Add the meat to the crockpot bowl.
- To the crockpot, add all the remaining ingredients except the beans (start with 4 cups chicken broth and add the remaining 2 towards the end of cooking if desired). Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hour or on high for 5-6 hours. I recommend cooking on low if possible.
- Just before serving, shred the meat with two forks. It should easily fall apart. Stir in the beans. If you like a soupy chili, add more chicken broth to your liking.
- To serve, divide the chili among bowls and top with seasoned baked potato wedges (recipe below), sliced avocado, cheddar cheese, Fritos, grilled corn and jalapeños. EAT!
Seasoned Potato Wedges
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease with a little olive oil.
- In a large bowl, toss the fries with olive oil. Add the chipotle chile powder, honey, salt and pepper and arrange the fries in a single layer without crowding them (this is very important - I used two baking sheets). Bake for 20 minutes, remove and toss, then bake for another 15-20 minutes. I like to start checking them at 15 minutes just to make sure that none are burning or getting too crisp.
Notes
*If you are in a hurry, you can skip searing the meat and just add it directly to the crockpot. However, I find that searing the meat really boosts the flavor. **TO MAKE IN TH OVEN: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat a large heavy bottomed soup pot to high heat. Rub the steak all over with olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Sear the meat on both sides until, light char marks appear, about 3 minutes. To the pot, add all the remaining ingredients except the beans (start with 4 cups chicken broth and add the remaining 2 towards the end of cooking if desired). Cover and cook for 4-5 hours, string once or twice. Just before serving, shred the meat with two forks. It should easily fall apart. Stir in the beans. If you like a soupy chili, add more chicken broth to your liking. Plate as directed above
But one thing, double up on the cheese. Well two things – DON’T skimp on the potatoes either! Mmmm, K?! Cool! đ
Did not fall for the low slow cook setting on my Instant Pot. After several failures with other recipes, I did some research and turns out a major fault with Instant Pots is that they donât cook as hot as Crockpots. 7 hours on high and the flank steak was shreadable no problem. Read comments and started with 2 cups of broth and the thickness was just lovely. Adjusted bitterness from the beer with more apple butter. Next time I make this Iâll do some sort of kolsch instead of the Lil Sumpin Sumpin đ
Thumbs up for a weeknight meal. Also, a great way to stretch your meat allowance. Quick prep.
Hey Kathleen,
Happy Wednesday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xx
This doesnât work in a crock pot on low for 8 hours. It just comes out as chicken stock and doesnât thicken at all. Unsure if it was meant to be made on the stove or whatâs going on here. Weâre having to dump it into a pot and bring it to a simmer then plan to add corn starch to thicken. Wish us luck to salvage this mess.
Hi Kris,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you are having some issues. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
Love this recipe! Absolutely my husbandâs favorite! What do you think about cooking the steak sous vide first, and then adding it to the chili an hour before serving? Do you have any other suggestions?
Hey Kristen,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and truly appreciate you making it! I’ve never tried a sous vide but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for you! Have a great weekend! đđ
Excited to try this! I donât have apple butter, can I just leave this out or can I substitute with something else?
Thank you! Veronica
Hey Veronica,
You can just skip the apple butter, no big deal:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xT
Hi! Is there something to substitute the beer for? Or can it be removed altogether?
Hi Christina,
You could use chicken broth in place of the beer:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Another fabulous recipe!!! Thanks to another reviewerâs suggestion, I used the pre-marinated carne asada from Trader Joeâs, as it was much cheaper than the flank steak. I also added chopped carrots about halfway through. I was worried about there being too much liquid based on comments, so I used three cups of chicken stock at first and took the lid off after 4 hours and let it cook for another hour. It really reduced the liquid, so I ended up adding another cup or so of chicken stock in the end. I made mine in the oven so that Iâd have a little more control over the amount of liquid (and less dishes!) This will definitely replace my former go-to chili recipe!
Hi Sara,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I truly appreciate you giving it a try!!? xTieghan
Could you use brisket for this recipe?
Hey Jess! I haven’t ever tried this with brisket so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
Delicious chili! For anyone concerned about the âsoupiness,â I halved the total amount of liquid (so used 2 c chicken broth and 6 oz beer), but left everything else the same, and it was the perfect traditional âchiliâ consistency when cooked in my Dutch oven in my real oven for 4 hours at 325 degrees. Canât speak for how those measurements would turn out in the crockpot, but if follow instructions given to leave the crockpot lid off for the last hour to thicken it, Iâm sure it would be great! I donât love chunks of tomatoes so next time, I may purĂ©e the diced tomatoes before adding. I used a âLondon broilâ cut of beef because thatâs what seemed reasonable and available, and itâs fall apart tender and delicious.
Amazing! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Abby! Thank you for trying this and leaving suggestions for others! xTieghan