1 Jul 2022

Recipe: Bacon & Bean Chilli

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My lot love Chilli con Carne but hate the thick skins on Red Kidney Beans. This recipe uses a mix of Black Beans and Canellini Beans instead making it much nicer to eat and the smoky flavour of the bacon really lifts the taste to another level! The recipe is designed for 8-10 servings so makes the perfect batch cooking recipe to freeze for easy and delicious mid-week meals.

Glasshouse Girl’s Recipe for Bacon & Bean Chilli

Drain your canned beans and rinse well. I like a mix of black beans and meaty cannellini beans but you can use any mix of beans as you prefer.

Finely dice onions and chop red peppers into small cubes.

Use scissors to cut the bacon into thin strips.

Fry the bacon in some olive oil until it starts to brown. You might find a little bit of sticky burnt stuff on the bottom but don’t worry about this – it just adds to the smoky flavour. This takes about 10 minutes on a medium heat. Just don’t let your bacon burn and go black or it will make the final dish bitter.

Gather your spices. The mild chilli powder adds depth whilst the cayenne and chilli flakes add the heat. You can adjust the chilli(s) to suit your palate. I would start by adjusting the cayenne as this is the one that gives it more / less kick.

Add the chopped vegetables and spices to the pan. Cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. This takes about 20 minutes on a low heat.

This chilli recipe calls for 1kg of beef mince. I like to use 500g of 5% fat and 500g of 12% fat. This gives you a slightly leaner meal whilst keep the luxurious taste. You can of course go for leaner or fattier cuts as you prefer.

Add the beef in two batches and brown off.

Add your drained and rinsed beans, chopped tomatoes, passata, tomato puree and salt. My lot don’t like the ‘chunks’ in chopped tomatoes which is why I only use one can alongside the smooth tomato passata. You could of course just use more chopped tomatoes / less (or zero) passata and vice versa to suit your own tastes.

Cook for 1 hour on a very low heat with the lid on and then a further 1 hour with the lid off.

Once cooked, the liquids will rise to the top and look something like this.

Now here’s a little tip… do not eat the Chilli straight away. Let it completely cool down. Once cooled, you can refrigerate and reheat later or pop into containers and freeze in batches for an easy delicious midweek meal!

The finished Chilli.

Letting it cool down completely allows the sauce to come together and really makes the whole dish taste better. I’m sure there’s some science behind this but I can’t explain it!

Serving Suggestion

Serve with your own choice of rice, tortilla chips, gucamole, salsa, creme fraiche, shredded lettuce, grated cheese.

Top Tip : Squeeze a wedge of fresh lime over your plate of chilli for a little extra zing!

Bacon & Bean Chilli

A delicious take on Chilli Con Carne without the evils of kidney beans
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hr 15 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8

Equipment

  • 1 Large Pan with lid Mine is a 6 litre stock pot
  • 1 Chopping board
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Kitchen / Meat Scissors optional
  • 1 Teaspoon
  • 1 Dessert spoon
  • 1 Sieve
  • 1 Garlic Crush optional
  • 1 Can opener

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 500 grams Smoked Bacon Back or Streaky
  • 2 medium Onions Yellow, white or brown
  • 2 Red Bell Peppers
  • 2 tbsp Garlic Puree or Paste 6 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
  • 2 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper You can add more or less depending on your taste
  • 1 kg Minced Beef 500 g of 5% fat / 500g of 12% fat
  • 1 can Black Beans 400g can, drained and rinsed.
  • 1 can Canellini Beans 400g can, drained and rinsed.
  • 4 tbsp Tomato Puree
  • 1 can Chopped Tomatoes 400g can
  • 500 grams Passata
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Instructions
 

  • Finely dice your onions
  • Chop peppers into 2cm cubes and removing pith, seeds and stalk
  • Chop bacon into 1cm wide strips – I find this easiest to do using kitchen scissors
  • Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in your pan on a medium heat and add the bacon. Fry until it just starts to brown – approx. 10 minutes.
  • Turn the heat down. Add the chopped onions and peppers and the spices. Cook on a low heat until the onion starts to go translucent – approx. 20 minutes.
  • Add half of your minced beef and brown. Then add the second half of you beef and brown.
  • Add the beans, chopped tomatoes and salt. Stir thoroughly.
  • Move to a very low heat and cook for 1 hour with the lid on.
  • Remove the lid and cook for another hour, still on a low heat
  • Serve with your choice of Mexican accompaniments
Keyword beans, beef, Chilli, mince

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