Austin-Style Chicken Chili

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Austin-Style Chicken Chili

Austin-Style Chicken Chili


Serves 6 to 8
¼ cup cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds ground chicken
Kosher salt
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 to 4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 12-ounce bottles porter beer (I like Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald)
1 7-ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, pureed
1 habanero chile pepper


Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a skillet over medium heat. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then grind in a spice grinder.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add half of the ground  chicken and season with salt; cook, stirring, until the meat is browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken  to a plate using a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and chicken; transfer to the plate.

Add the onion, garlic and bell peppers to the pot; season with salt and cook, stirring, until aromatic but not  caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the ground cumin and coriander, the cayenne and paprika; cook 30  seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 30 more seconds.

Deglaze the pot with the beer, using a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot. Return the chicken to  the pot and stir to incorporate. Stir in the pureed chipotle chiles and 2 cups water. Cut a slit in one side of the  habanero and add it to the pot. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 2  hours. (Add more water if the chili is too thick.) Remove the habanero before serving.