Nothing like a slow-cooker meal on a cold winter day, am I right? Â Even better, a slow-cooker chipotle chili waiting for you when you get home back from a day of skiing.
I found this recipe on Pinterest, big surprise, and of course made a few mods to put my personal touch, but just for the sake of giving people the credit they deserve, here’s the link for the original recipe that inspired this: Chipotle Bison Chili.
I’ve made this chili twice now, once with half bison and half beef, the other time with half elk and half beef. Â Both equally as awesome, both equally easy to prepare. Â That’s the beauty of slow-cooking meals: they require relatively no prep time and still give you that sweet feeling of having a home-cooked meal prepared for you. Â Do the work now, get the benefit later kinda thing. Â Kind of like going to the gym.
You will notice that this beautiful chili is totally bean free, for my own very personal digestive reasons.  And everybody else’s, if we’re being honest.  Who out there can say they don’t get supper gassy after eating beans?  I don’t know about you but I’m not a fan of being bloated and full of gas.  Hence the Paleo chili.  What I do love however, is a ton of buttered mushrooms in my chili. I also topped it with avocado crema (avos blended with sour cream), some diced red onion, and a delicious Paleo “Cornbread” and we’re in business. I will work on finding the recipe for that bread, I promise.
- 2 lbs grass fed ground meat of choice (beef, bison & elk all work great)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp water
- 4 strips of pastured organic bacon cut into small pieces
- 2 cups beef broth (homemade is best)
- 1 small can of diced tomatoes
- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 dried chipotle peppers or 2 tsp of chipotle spice
- 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (you can use worcestershire or gluten-free soy sauce)
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for frying
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt and pepepr, to taste
- Mix the water and baking soda in a large bowl and add in the meat. Massage the water/baking soda mix into the meat and let it rest for about 30 mins. This trick is totally not mine but it works like a charm to give you that nice crispy & brown chili meat.
- In a large dutch oven or enamel pot, place the bacon pieces and cook for a few minutes on high heat. Remove bacon from the pan, but leave the fat in there.
- Add diced onions and saute for a few minutes until translucent, add garlic and cook for an extra minute, then add the spices. Cook for a couple minutes until the spices become fragrant.
- Next add the meat and cook until brown and crispy on the outside. Add the cooked bacon back into the pot as well as the remaining ingredients and mix well. You can slow cook this dish in an enamel pot over low-medium heat or simply transfer all ingredients to a slow-cooker. Cook on higher temperature for about 30 minutes then add salt and pepper to taste. Lower temperature to low and leave on for several hours (4 to 6).
- Garnish with organic sour cream, fresh cilantro, diced onions and avos. Enjoy!