The award-winning PepperFest beef chili recipe from Angelina’s Kitchen!

JohnandAng
Angelina and John of Angelina’s Kitchen.

The best dish at this year’s Amazing Pepper Festival, as voted on by our team of discriminating judges, was the chili created by Angelina and John of Pittsboro’s famous Greek restaurant, Angelina’s Kitchen.  There were actually two chilis – one beef and one bean, to please the vegans and the omnivores alike.  And please us they did.

I can personally attest to the caliber of these scrumptious chilis, which draw their flavor from both their fresh, local ingredients, and from the chefs’ masterful use of spices.  That’s how it goes with everything this couple puts on the menu at Angelina’s.  They don’t skimp on quality ingredients, and the food they serve is always fresh, flavorful, hearty and satisfying.

As winter has begun to show its face around here these last few weeks, I found myself wanting this chili more and more.  So after a lot of begging on my part, Angelina and John finally agreed to share her top secret recipes with you, our lucky readers.  If you tried these chilis at PepperFest, you’ll know what a score this is.

So hit up the farmer’s market or food co-op and then snuggle in with a pot and a wooden spoon, and in no time you’ll be reveling in spicy perfection, Angelina’s style.

The meat chili recipe:

(See the vegan bean chili recipe here)

The award-winning PepperFest chili recipe from Angelina’s Kitchen!
Recipe Type: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Author: Angelina’s Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: a lot of people
Chile Shack John brings his New Mexican taste buds to Chatham County Farms … 400 lbs of roasted local anaheims and poblanos per year keep us all in delicious meat chile.
Ingredients
  • 3 lbs ground beef
  • 2 lbs hot sausage
  • 1 lb ground pork (all meats available locally!)
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 3 cups chopped onion
  • 1/3 cup crushed garlic
  • 5 cups roasted and chopped green chile
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 5 cups diced or chopped tomatoes (local when available)
  • salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (fresh or dried – local!)
Instructions
  1. Brown the sausage and pork, drain off most of the fat.
  2. Brown the ground beef and add to cooked pork and sausage – set aside
  3. Gently cook chopped onion in olive oil (about 15 minutes till slightly golden).
  4. Add garlic and cook another minute or more.
  5. Add green chile and some salt, pepper and cayenne – and mix for a few moments.
  6. Add the chopped tomato and the tomato paste – stir well
  7. Add all the meat – gently stir
  8. Bring to a simmer and let simmer about 1 hour
Notes
Chile Shack John loves his roasted green chiles – we get most of our anaheims and poblanos from Screech Owl. We get our hot peppers, like cayenne and jalapenos from a number of local farmers. NC has great peppers! We do think that using local meats, local peppers and local beans makes our dishes taste so much better than conventional ingredients – so don’t take that part for granted 🙂

Visit Angelina’s Kitchen in person, and try their other amazing dishes.  Start here, at their website.

Angelina's source their produce from a stunning array of local farms.
Angelina’s source their produce from a stunning array of local farms.
John at PepperFest.
John at PepperFest.