Beer Chili!

So, here it is, folks:  the much-anticipated BEER CHILI blog!  I met this challenge with some apprehension, because I already love my chili, so the idea of changing it or making something different kind of scared me a little bit.  Today was a great day for it, though. 
I went to Kroger the other day and picked out 6 different flavors of beer, because I really had no idea where to start.  Out of the 6, I had narrowed today's choices down to 2:  Shiner Bock and a Blue Moon seasonal.  I picked Blue Moon.
Here's everything I needed....except, I forgot to put the beef in the picture.......and I ended up not using the McCormick chili seasoning mix....oh well.

I'm still obsessed with my new KitchenAid meat grinder, so I ground my own beef for this chili.  I took Angus stew meat...I made sure to pick some with a little bit of fat on it.  If you don't have a grinder, or you have absolutely zero interest in using one, then use the ground meat of your choice.  Ground turkey would work, as well.
I tossed some salt & pepper on the beef *before* I stuck it in the grinder.  This way, the beef would have some seasoning from the get-go.

Look how cool that is!  Let me digress for a minute.  There are a couple reasons why I prefer grinding my own meat now:  1.  I know what's in it.  2.  I get to weed out any extra gristle and fat.
Okay...back to life, back to reality.
I got my trusty ole Dutch Oven back out.  I just love this thing.  Preheat that sucker on the stove top on medium-high heat, and brown the ground beef in it (also preheat your oven at 350 while you're doing all of this.)  No need to spray the pan unless you just want to...the beef will take care of that.  One important thing to note here:  you want to season the beef while it's browning.  I put about 3 TBS of my Wahoo! Chili Seasoning in there, along with some onion powder.  There's just enough fat in the beef to keep it moving around, but not enough to where you have to drain it.

After the beef was cooked, I added the chili beans (I prefer Bush's,) and the chili-ready tomatoes.  I took half the can of tomatoes and pureed them so it would give me sort of a tomato base.  Toss it all in, and add about half a jar of Chili Sauce.  It'll look nice and red and pretty.

This is normally where I would add spaghetti and let it cook for a while and call it a day, but alas, it IS beer chili day, so I must add the beer.  I added a little at a time, because you can always add more, but you can never take away.  The chili got all frothy and foamy and started smelling sooooooo delicious.

Pour, stir, taste.  Pour, stir, taste.  Pour, stir, taste...until you have used about 3/4 of the beer. Here's where you'll be glad you preheated your oven.  Cook the chili, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.  This will allow all the flavors to incorporate and get married and become yummy.  Add the rest of the beer and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

*Caveat* Of course, you can adjust, change, add, or omit anything you want.  Cooking is personal, so you make it however you want!

That's pretty much it.  Here's a closer look at the actual beer I used.  It turns out that there was white pepper in it, so I made a good choice.  It added such a richness to the flavor, and while the beer isn't overwhelming by any means, you know it's there.

I always top my chili with cheddar cheese and Zesta crackers.   Voila!  Prepare to enjoy.