Recipe File: Buffalo Chili

I love this chili. It's adapted from a recipe I found in Men's Health. The taste is fresh and lean, and benefits greatly from sour cream, parmesan cheese, or corn chips. And I'm sure that crackers would also be delicious (if predictable).

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground buffalo chuck (or any ground/chopped game you have around. My family usually has some elk in the freezer. Rabbit would be nice. Beef is acceptable, but be sure it's grass-fed and organic, or else the flavor won't be sufficiently strong.)
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 Poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 serrano chili, seeded and diced (leave the seeds in if you want an extra kick!)
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 big can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes (watch out for unnatural gunk in the ingredients list, and buy organic if you can. Or, even better, use fresh ones!)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce (again, be sure to check the ingredients)
2 cups beef stock (good luck finding all natural. Make your own if it concerns you.)
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro (I used dried, and it turned out okay. But I'm sure fresh would have been much better)
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp crushed cumin seeds
1 cup cooked black beans
Salt and pepper to taste

Coat a heavy skillet with the oil and heat it on medium-high. Cook the buffalo until it's brown. Add the jalapeños, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook over medium until the onions turn translucent. Add the tomato sauce, beef stock, tomatillos, cilantro, paprika, and cumin. Boil. Then simmer for 1½ hours. Add beans. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 6

These directions are the basic version, for those of you who aren't fortunate enough to (have parents who) own a crockpot. If you are so blessed as to have one of these ingenious devices, brown the meat in oil. When it's mostly cooked, add the peppers, garlic, and onion. After the onions turn translucent, dump all remaining ingredients with the meat mixture into the crockpot. Cover, turn on, go to work, and come home to the delicious smells of chili in your home. Particularly satisfying if it's cold outside.