Fourby Chili (Black Beans, Beer, & Broccoli)
Submitted by ratchet32
Four-B chili loads black beans, stout beer, broccoli, and peanut butter into a three-chili vegetarian chili with deep, roasty, unexpected flavor. Served over Spanish rice with warm corn tortillas.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
12 hrsDon’t let the name throw you. The four Bs are black beans, stout beer, broccoli, and peanut butter, and together they build a vegetarian chili that’s deeper and weirder than any meat-based bowl you’ve had lately.
Cooking the beans in stout from the start is the foundation move. The dark beer brings coffee-like bitterness, malt sweetness, and a roasty depth that vegetable chili otherwise begs for. A quarter cup of peanut butter stirred in near the end melts invisibly into the broth, thickening it and adding a warm, earthy richness that people taste but can’t quite identify.
Three kinds of fresh chilies (long mild, jalapeno, and serrano) layer heat from slow to sharp. The broccoli goes in at the end for green crunch that balances all the dense, dark flavor of the base.
Chef Tips
- Don’t skip the overnight soak. Soaked beans cook more evenly and avoid the blown-out skin problem.
- Pick a stout with roasty flavor like Guinness or oatmeal stout. Sweeter milk stouts throw the balance off.
- Make it the day before. This chili truly transforms after a night in the fridge, with all the flavors melding into something rounder.
- Whisk the peanut butter with a ladle of warm chili liquid first, then stir it in. Adding cold PB directly leaves sticky clumps.
Variations
- Stir in a square of dark chocolate along with the peanut butter for a mole-style richness.
- Swap stout for a Mexican porter or a smoky lager for a different beer profile.
- Top with crumbled cotija or queso fresco for a salty, crumbly finish that cuts through the richness.
Ingredients
Directions
Rinse the black beans, pick out any pebbles; then cover with water and let soak overnight.
Then pour off the soaking water, add 1 bottle of stout, and add fresh water to cover the beans plus about 1 inch.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Cover partway (it will boil over if fully covered) and let cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Add water if neccessary.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the garlic, onions, and all chili peppers.
Sauté a few minutes until soft, then add to the beans.
Add the vinegar and spices and the diced tomatoes; simmer for another half hour, stirring.
As the liquid from the tomatoes boils off, start adding stout from the second bottle.
About half of this bottle is reserved for the cook.
Add the corn and the peanut butter, simmer for another hour or so, keeping it moist enough (with stout and/or water) so that it doesn’t crust over.
Stir occassionally.
Best if you let it sit overnight, and reheat it for dinner the next day.
To serve: cut the florets off of the broccoli, and steam until done (but crisp).
I ususally do this in the microwave.
Serve the chili with a sprinkle of chopped onions and grated cheddar cheese on top (for vegan, omit cheese or use tofu cheese).
The broccoli can either be stirred in at the last minute, pressed on top of the chili for nice presentation, or placed along side it.
Serve with spanish rice (follows) and with warmed corn tortillas!
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