IF I MAKE THIS CHILI ON THE STOVE TOP INSTEAD OF IN AN INSTANT POT, WILL IT STILL BE AS FLAVORFUL?
* I’ll admit that I do think that nearly everything made in the Instant Pot is more flavorful. I believe it’s due to being cooked under pressure – how can whatever you cook NOT be more flavorful when all the ingredients are force-ably infused into every part of what you are cooking? Before I got my Instant Pot, though, I made this chili on my stove top all the time and it is still a delicious experience – not to worry.
MY KIDS ARE WEENIES AND DON’T CARE FOR BEANS IN CHILI, BUT I DO. GOT ANY SUGGESTIONS?
* My boys are weenies too! They prefer Hillbilly Chili without the addition of chili beans…totally ridiculous. What to do? Well, I make a big batch of chili without the beans, then I serve the weenies first. Next I add warm chili beans to the chili bowls for me and Pa…delicious! This keeps everybody happy and it’s an easy fix.
IF I DON’T HAVE CHILI BEANS ON HAND, CAN I SUBSTITUTE OTHER CANNED BEANS FROM MY PANTRY?
* Yes and I’ve had to do this a number of times when I’ve gone to the pantry and found I was out of chili beans. I’ve substituted plain pinto beans and also black beans for the chili beans and it works fine. (Just keep in mind that you may need to use a bit more chili seasoning since canned chili beans typically come packed in a chili sauce.)
DO I HAVE TO DRAIN THE CHILI BEANS WHEN MAKING THIS RECIPE?
No. If you have a particular brand or type of canned chili beans that comes in a deliciously seasoned sauce, you totally do not have to drain them.
CAN I USE ANY KIND OF GROUND BEEF IN THIS RECIPE? I DON’T ALWAYS HAVE GROUND SIRLOIN ON HAND.
You can use any type of ground beef that you have on hand. You’ll just want to be sure that you drain the fats from the ground chuck once it’s been cooked as there could be quite a bit that accumulates. Otherwise, ground chuck works perfectly for this chili.
CAN I MAKE THIS CHILI USING GROUND VENISON INSTEAD OF GROUND BEEF?
I’m so glad you asked this question. My sons are hunters, so we often have ground venison in the freezer. I’ve used it in this chili recipe as well as these Meat Burritos with Cheese and Tex Mex Cauliflower Rice with Ground Beef just recently. I like to use ground venison in my recipes that use Mexican ingredients, such as chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, chili powder, etc. Here is a favorite appetizer recipe that uses vension, too: Venison Bacon Poppers.
CAN OTHER PASTAS BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THE SPAGHETTI IN THIS CHILI?
Great question, and YES. For whatever reason, my boys prefer spaghetti or angel hair pasta in this chili, but you could definitely substitute macaroni, small shell, or penne pasta very successfully.
WHY DOES THIS CHILI RECIPE CALL FOR SUGAR AS ONE OF THE INGREDIENTS? THAT SEEMS KIND OF WEIRD.
Actually, it’s not! Tomato products, such as diced or crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, or even tomato juice, are acidic in nature and a pinch of sugar (or a tablespoon as in this recipe) cuts that acidity quite nicely, rounding out all of the flavors in the process. Try it!
Ingredients
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