Saddlebag Chili

This chili leans cowboy-country in the best way. Bacon gets fried up first (the recipe instructs you to eat the bacon, which is solid advice), and the rendered fat becomes the cooking medium for onions, peppers, and garlic. Then four pounds of roughly ground beef brisket joins the pot, deglazed with a bottle of beer and two ounces of sour mash whiskey.

Molasses, allspice, and a full quarter cup of masa harina set this apart from generic chili. The molasses and allspice play surprisingly well with the smoke from the bacon fat, and masa stirred in late thickens the pot to glossy stew consistency while adding the unmistakable corn note of southwestern cooking.

Eight whole jalapeños, two tablespoons of cayenne flakes, and two tablespoons of hot sauce mean this isn’t shy on heat. The cumin gets split: most goes in early to bloom, with one tablespoon held back for the final 10 to 15 minutes so the volatile oils stay sharp at the table.

Pro Tips

• Use the bacon fat as the cooking base. The smoke and salt from the bacon are foundational to the chili’s character.
• Don’t substitute regular ground beef for the brisket. The fat content and texture of brisket are what give this version its body.
• Stir in the masa harina paste smoothly. Dump it in as a dry powder and you’ll have lumps that won’t dissolve later.
• Add the final tablespoon of cumin in the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe is specific about this and it’s a real difference-maker for fresh, sharp spice notes.

Variations

• Use bourbon in place of sour mash whiskey for a sweeter, more vanilla-forward boozy backbone.
• Tone down the heat by halving the cayenne and using only 4 jalapeños if cooking for a less spice-tolerant crowd.
• Top with shredded sharp cheddar, diced raw onion, and a dollop of sour cream for the full Texas service.