The Undefeated Dragon's Breath Chili

Submitted by Charles and Bethany Teames - added 8/19/26

⏱ 2.5 hrs 🍽 Serves 10-15

This is a recipe my family adapted from Guy Fieri that we have been slowly altering and improving to fit our tastes for the last 20 years. It has never lost a chili cook-off.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. bacon grease — or canola oil
• 2 tap. unsalted butter
• 3 Anaheim chiles — grilled or roasted, peeled, seeded
• 3 poblano chiles — grilled or roasted, peeled, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers — grilled or roasted, peeled, diced
• 2 jalapeno chile pepper — minced
• 3 Tbsp. gochujang (the secret ingredient, tell no one)
• 2 yellow onions — diced
• 1 head garlic — minced
• 1 lb. chuck roast — boneless, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 lbs. ground beef — coarse grind
• 1 lb. Italian sausage — casings removed, or buy bulk
• 3 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. hot paprika — (might use half hot and half regular)
• 1 tsp. ground sichuan peppercorn (the other secret ingredient)
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. MSG (the other, other secret ingredient)
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 12 oz. beer or beef broth
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 30 oz. canned kidney beans — with juice
• 15 oz. canned pinto beans — with juice
• 15 oz. canned black beans — with juice

Instructions

1. Grill and roast your peppers until the outsides blister. Seal in a plastic bag to cool and loosen the skins. Once cool, the skins should peel off easily. Deseed and finely chop.
2. Add the bacon grease and butter to a large stockpot over high heat. Add the Anaheim chiles, poblano chiles, red bell peppers, jalapeno chiles, gochujang and onions, and cook until caramelized, about 16 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add the chuck and brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and brown, stirring gently, trying not to break up the ground beef too much. Cook until the meat is nicely browned and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain off fat if desired. Add the chili powder, cayenne, coriander, cumin, granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika, salt, msg, sichuan peppercorn and black pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the tomato sauce and paste, and stir to reduce, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beer and stock. Add the kidney, black and pinto beans; lower the heat and simmer, about 2 hours or transfer to a slow cooker on low overnight