Chili con Carne for Red Dead Redemption 2

So Red Dead Redemption 2 came out recently, and it looks amazing. I am one of the unhappy few that does not own a device that it is available so I hope that, this time, Rockstar feels like bringing the game over to PC. Sorry, PC gamer problems, you all are here for the food.

I was inspired by the games Southern setting to make this amazing Chili con Carne. My wife says it is the best chili she has ever had, but she is obligated to compliment my food. It is a really great chili and would serve equally well as an entrée or topping for chili dogs, eggs, or chili cheese fries.

I also need to add an obligatory apology to my friend Jay. He hates cinnamon in chili. I think it gives it a quick dash of sweet heat, he sees it as an abomination. Oh well, I will make him eat it anyway!

Ingredients:
¼ lb. of bacon, diced*
3 lb. of ground beef
1 large white onion, diced
1 tbsp salt
2 jalapeños, seeded and minced
2 red fresno chilies, seeded and minced
1 serrano chile, sliced
40.5oz can of kidney beans, drained
28oz can of crushed tomatoes
½ tsp ground red pepper
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp of cinnamon (sorry again, Jay)
1 tsp cocoa powder

Directions:
Heat a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat and brown the bacon until all the fat is rendered out and the bacon bits are crispy. Remove, drain, and set aside for later. Next, brown the ground beef in the bacon grease in 1 pound portions, removing each portion after it is well browned. You are going to be simmering the beef later so it does not matter if it is not cooked all the way at this point.

Once you have evacuated all of your beef, add the onions and salt and sweat the onions over medium to medium low heat until they are translucent and soft. Next, stir in all the chiles and sweat down until soft.

Dump in all the spices and cocoa powder and fry them until they are looking toasted and are stinking up your house something good.

Finally, pour in the can of tomatoes and the can of drained beans, and add your reserved meat back in. Bring to a simmer and simmer, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes or until a nice thick gravy is covering your chili.

Optionally, serve with plenty of cheese, sour cream, and corn chips.

A really fun party idea is to keep your chili warm in a slow cooker and let your guests serve themselves in individual corn chip bags and load up on toppings. Some people call this a "walking taco" I just think its amazing.

*Pro tip: it is way easier to chop bacon up into a fine dice if you stick it in the freezer for an hour to get hard, not enough to freeze through, but enough to be stiff. That makes it way easier to dice up.

Far Cry 5 Montana Burger

Far Cry 5 came out recently, and to celebrate this great game, I decided to create my Montana Burger. What is Montana known for? Game burgers! This bison burger is packed with sweet and savory umami flavor and is excellent paired with my maple glazed bacon.

Ingredients:

2 large white onions
½ C demerara or light brown sugar
1 lb ground bison
2 tsp salt (divided)
2 tbsp oil (divided)
¼ C ketchup
2 tbsp maple syrup
sesame seed bun
mayo
maple glazed bacon
cheddar cheese

Directions:

Slice the onions into medium slices. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a saute pan over medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onions and 1 tbsp of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions have significantly darkened, about 10-15 minutes. Once the onions have reached the level of brown that you like for sauteed onions, turn the heat off and add the sugar. Stir constantly and allow the reserved heat to caramelize the sugar onto the onions. Remove from the pan so they do not burn.

While the onions are cooking, form the ground bison into 4 patties and lightly salt each with a ¼ tsp of salt. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a cast iron skillet until the oil is shimmering. Sear the burgers, about 3-5 minutes on each side, until an instant read thermometer reads 155 internal or until juices run clear. Let the burgers rest for 5 minutes.

Mix together the ketchup and maple syrup and, once the burgers are rested, brush the glaze onto the paties.

To serve, I toasted my sesame seed buns on one side under the broiler with a thick slice of cheddar cheese on the top slice. I then put a thin spread of mayo on the bottom, and added 4 half slices of my maple bacon, topped with a generous heap of caramelized onions, the glazed patty, and then the top bun with the melted cheese. And, since Far Cry 5 is a bit of  a violent game, I finished the whole thing off by stabbing it with a steak knife.

The Legend Of Zelda's Monster Curry

It is no secret that I love videogames. I've been a huge Nintendo fan since a friend of mine brought his Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask strategy guide to play practise when I was 10. I've been in love with that kind of storytelling ever since. Last year the amazing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out and included a fun cooking mini game. This presented me with a great opportunity to combine 2 of my great loves, videogames and food.

This dish might look pretty funky, but trust me, it's really good. This is not a spicy curry, in fact it has a slight sweetness from the sweet potatoes, and it is really easy to make. Sweet potatoes and red onion have plenty of great flavor so you don't have to break open all your spice jars to make this dish taste amazing.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp ghee or butter
1 tsp salt
¾ lb purple sweet potatoes, cleaned and diced
½ red onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
2 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp white pepper
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
blue food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Melt the ghee in a large saute pan and add the potatoes and salt. Saute for 3 minutes before adding the red onion. Cook, stirring often, until the potato is tender, about 3-5 more minutes. Add the ground beef and brown until thoroughly cooked.

Add the spices and lightly fry them until they are highly aromatic. Stir in a can of diced tomatoes until combined and saute for another 2 minutes before serving with rice.

At this point, the dish looks pretty purple, but to get it looking really monstrous, you might want to add some blue food coloring before serving. Just a couple drops should do the trick.