Ingredients

• CHILI
• 2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 sticks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 green chili peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon bacon bits
• 4 cubes beef bouillon
• 1/2 cup beer

• 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco™)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• TOPPING
• 1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
• 1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded

Cooking guidelines

Take a large stock pot and heat it over medium-high heat. Once your pot is nice and hot, crumble in the ground beef chuck and mix in the Italian sausage. Fry the meat mixture, giving it the occasional stir, until it is browned evenly. If you get any excess grease forming, simply drain it off.

Once your meat has browned nicely, turn the heat down to low and mix in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili beans and spicy chili beans. Chop your onion, celery sticks, green and red bell peppers and chili peppers. Mince your garlic. Add it all to the pot. Stir in the bacon bits. Crumble in the beef bouillon cubes and pour over the beer. Add the Tabasco or pepper sauce of your choice. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce. Give everything a good mix and season with the chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, dried basil, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and sugar. Blend it all together thoroughly, cover the pot with a lid and let the sauce simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours. Stir the sauce once in a while to avoid anything sticking to the bottom of the pot.

After 2 hours, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as you like. Add some more chili powder if you want the sauce to be a bit more fiery. If you have more time on your hands, let the sauce simmer for longer than 2 hours. The longer you let it cook, the thicker, sweeter and tastier it will get. Remove the pot from the heat and serve immediately. You can also let it cool and then store it in the refrigerator for the next day.

Divide the chili into bowls, shred a generous amount of Cheddar cheese over the top and eat with corn chips.