Chili Krieghauser

Chili Krieghauser is the kind of midwestern cookoff chili that started with a home cook making do with the cans on the shelf and ended up tasting better than the all-day recipes. The trick is the unexpected combo of canned French onion soup, cola, and a couple teaspoons of cocoa all working in the background.

The French onion soup does double duty, providing both broth and that deep beef-onion savor without needing to caramelize onions for an hour. The cola adds caramel-vanilla sweetness that balances the chili powder’s heat, and the cocoa rounds everything into something that tastes way more complex than 10 ingredients should produce.

Browning the ground beef for a full 20 minutes until it’s dark and crumbly is the most important step. That deep color is concentrated flavor and you can’t fake it by rushing this part.

Pro Tips

• Don’t skimp on the browning time, dark crumbly beef has way more flavor than pale-pink half-cooked beef. Drain the rendered fat after browning.
• Add the kidney beans undrained as the recipe says, the bean liquid thickens the chili and adds bean-y depth.
• Use unsweetened cocoa powder, not hot cocoa mix, the sugar in mix throws off the balance with the cola.
• Let the chili simmer at least 30 minutes once everything’s combined, the longer the better for flavor melding.

Variations

• Add a chopped jalapeno or a tablespoon of pickled jalapeno brine for more heat.
• Stir in a square of dark chocolate at the end for a more pronounced mole-style depth.
• Top each bowl with shredded sharp cheddar, sour cream, and chopped raw onion for the full chili-bowl experience.