100 ways to use beer in food is BACK and better than ever. As Winter Storm Janus trapped the fiancé and I indoors for TWO days straight, we had the typically rare opportunity to cook a meal together. Thinking about what meats we had in the freezer, we finally came to using the ground beef to make CHILI.
Why did Chili come to mind first? Well, I had this bottle of Billy’s Chilies that ML and her BF brought over for me. Billy’s Chilies is a BEER flavored with Serrano, Habanero, Jalapeno, Anaheim, and Fresno chili peppers. Yup…I’ve been saving this for the right time, and with frigid temperatures and going out to brush off 4 inches of snow from the cars every few hours, some extra heat was needed in the chili.
ML warned us that some antacids would be needed before and after indulging in the suds. She was right. I took a small taste to see if it would complement the flavors in our chili. YOWZA. Screw beer…you can taste the chilies in liquid form—start to finish. Of course there is a hint of wheat malts, but this was the perfect brew for chili.
I’ve had some spicy chili, but usually it’s been the kind that burns your tongue until it’s numb and you can’t even taste the chili. This had a different feeling. First off, the beer really changed the flavor in a big way. Chili powder definitely adds a spicy flavor, but the peppers included in the beer really came through the chili. The chili had a big KICK to it that continued throughout, even after you were done with the chili. This stuff is perfect for a cold winter day…when you have to brush the damn snow off your cars several times a day. Trust me: this will warm you up.