This Bourbon Chili Brings Big, Bold Flavor To The Dinner Table

It's not a difficult task to find a good chili recipe, and it's not even too difficult to find one that might play on a specific flavor profile, be it spicy, creamy, or possibly even slightly sweet. My roasty toasty bourbon chili recipe opts for a unique and downright cozy approach, featuring a plethora of chili staples — like beef, beans, crushed tomatoes, peppers, and onion — and pairing them with warm, woody, oaky bourbon for added depth.

Something I particularly like about this chili recipe is how the bourbon goes in across multiple stages, meaning those layers of flavor are built and expanded upon as you go. The liquor doesn't stand alone, either, with complementary ingredients like molasses and instant coffee helping to play up that comforting, roasty, toasty effect. The bourbon also pairs with a trio of dried chile peppers (ancho, guajillo, and chipotle), which all soak together before blending into a warm, spiced chile paste.

As someone who prefers chili on the thick and hearty side, I can confidently say this recipe delivers on that textural front. It's positively loaded with chunky ingredients all coming together with a unique bourbon spin you won't find in most chili recipes, making it the perfect changing-of-the-season meal to rely on for chilly nights outside and cozy nights inside.

To make this chili recipe, begin with dried ancho, guajillo, and chipotle chiles. Next, you'll need the star of the show, bourbon, along with a few chili staples: ground beef, olive oil, diced onion, diced red and green bell peppers, minced garlic, tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, sea salt, and black pepper. Instant coffee (preferably dark roast) and molasses help play up the depth of the bourbon, while pinto beans, black beans, and crushed tomatoes help round out the chili as a whole. You can garnish your chili however you'd like, but I recommend sour cream, shredded cheddar, and scallions.

Soak the ancho, guajillo, and chipotle chiles in ½ cup of boiling water and ½ cup of bourbon until softened, approximately 30 minutes.

Remove the chiles from the soaking liquid, reserving ¼ cup, and remove the stems and seeds from the chiles.

Add the chiles and reserved soaking liquid to a food processor.

Blend the chiles until smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it's browned and no longer pink, for about 5 minutes.

Remove the beef from the pot and set it aside.

Add the onions and peppers to the pot and cook until softened, approximately 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, and coffee powder. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Deglaze the aromatics with ¼ cup bourbon. Cook, stirring, until the bourbon has nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add the chile paste and molasses and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the beef, pinto beans, and black beans.

Add the crushed tomatoes, stir, bring the chili to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.

Add the remaining tablespoon of bourbon and simmer for 3 minutes.

Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and scallions.

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The bourbon is no doubt a standout ingredient in this chili, going into the mix in layers to create a unique level of warm, oaky depth. That said, you can make this chili completely alcohol-free, or you could easily skip that final stir-in of bourbon if you still want some of that oaky warmth but would rather be sure most of the alcohol has burned off.

If you want to go the alcohol-free route, start by swapping out the tablespoon of bourbon for beef broth when soaking the chiles. Although just boiling water would work, I do recommend using some sort of added ingredient, be it the bourbon or the broth, for even more depth of flavor. The same goes for the bulk of the bourbon that's used to deglaze the aromatics in the pot; substitute beef broth here, again, to still retain some added savory depth. As for the bourbon at the end, you can easily skip that addition if desired, or reach for that handy carton of broth for one more splash. Note that your final chili will taste a bit different without the bourbon, but it will still have lots of rich and complex heartiness going on.

While the bourbon may be a standout ingredient in this chile, the trio of dried chiles shouldn't be ignored, either. Each of the three I've selected for this recipe, anchos, guajillos, and chipotles, all play an important flavor role. The anchos provide a milder, slightly sweet and fruity flavor, while the guajillo chiles tap into a slightly brighter and earthier profile. The chipotles come through with a distinct smokiness, and combined, they make for an excellent chile paste base (one further emboldened by that bourbon soak).

If you can't find this particular trio of chiles, then you can swap out one or multiple for comparable ones. Pasilla, New Mexico, or morita chiles are my specific recommendations, but note that each one will bring a slightly different level of heat, earthiness, or smokiness to the table. If more heat is what you're looking for, add some chiles de árbol to the mix (but keep in mind that a small amount will go a long way). Ancho or guajillo chile powder would also work here in a pinch, but your final chili won't have quite as much depth as it would with the chile paste.

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