Dr.Randy Jouno's Guadalajara,Mx Champ Chili

This is no-beans, cubed-beef, competition-grade chili with a spice cabinet’s worth of flavor. Four pounds of round steak cut into ¼-inch cubes (not ground beef), browned in batches and simmered for two hours in a tomato paste base loaded with 14 different herbs and spices.

The spice blend reads like a world tour: chili powder, cumin, coriander, curry, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, marjoram, oregano, thyme, sage, paprika, garlic, and celery salt. Each one adds a different layer, and the combination creates something far more complex than straight chili powder alone. That curry-cinnamon-allspice trio gives it a warm, almost mole-like depth.

Then there’s the chocolate. Four ounces of milk chocolate, broken up and stirred in during the last 30 minutes. It melts into the chili and rounds out the heat, adds body, and gives the sauce a glossy richness. It’s the same principle behind Mexican mole, and it works.

Pro Tips

• Brown the beef in small batches. Crowding the pan steams the meat instead of searing it, and you lose all that flavor.
• Cube the beef yourself rather than buying pre-cut stew meat. Round steak gives you uniform ¼-inch pieces that cook evenly.
• Stir frequently during the last 30 minutes after the chocolate goes in. The sugars can scorch on the bottom.
• This chili is even better the next day after the spices have had time to fully bloom.

Variations

• Hotter: Add ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or a diced habanero with the green chiles.
• Dark chocolate: Swap milk chocolate for bittersweet for a less sweet, more intense finish.
• Beer addition: Replace 2 cups of water with a dark Mexican lager for more depth.