Autumn. Perfect weather for carving pumpkins, watching football and eating chili. The Ranting Chef is excited to host the Diced! Chili Cook-off. We have a number of competitors that have submitted a chili recipe and post for consideration. For three out of five weeks I will post four entries each week. At the end of each week a poll will be opened to vote on your favorite from the week. The poll will be open from Friday to the following Wednesday. The top 3 vote getters in each week will be pitted against each other at the end to determine the winner. Check out today’s post from AJ at Chili 365…
Chicken Chili Poutine
Things you should know about this chili:
10) Poutine is a Canadian dish loosely consisting of French fries topped with cheese curds and smothered in gravy.
9) I’ve made 314 batches of chili this year (one per day). Through the slog of spices, tomato sauce, and various meats, I firmly (though mistakenly) believed that I magically would be transformed into a crimson-stained oracle of chili wisdom. I have never been so tragically wrong.
8) The only conviction to which I frantically cling is this: chili is comfort food. Some find comfort in gods, guns, or grandmas. I take solace in chili (beer and cheese ain’t bad neither).
7) I fully anticipate this chili instigating a full-fledged frenzy in Canada. If you know any Canadians, you’ll concede that Canadian delirium would amount to a bunch of Canadians standing around and sedately proclaiming my chili, “Pretty good, eh?”
6) I did not seek Justin Bieber’s consent (expressed or implied) before making this chili.
5) This chili will neither induce nor will it remedy an unintended pregnancy.
4) While the Double Scottish Ale used in this recipe made the transition from “beverage” to “ingredient” rather seamlessly, I teared up a little bit. (Alright, I cried. Who wouldn’t? I sacrificed…and it hurt).
3) My pet chickens have no knowledge of this chili but since the little biddies are forcefully suspicious by nature, it’s a good bet they have my kitchen on 24 hour stake-out.
2) Meat ingredients are used in the recipe because I live by the credo, “Gore or be gored.”
1) My attention deficit disorder meds have finally ceased their restless wandering and have settled into my cerebral cortex and thus, without any further, tortured prose, here is the recipe:
¾ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
1 T chili powder
½ t cumin
½ t paprika
½ t Mexican oregano
1 ¼ C tomato sauce (You could use an 8 oz can of sauce instead.)
1/3 C HEAVY ale (I used a double Scottish Ale. My advice is to go big.)
1 t hot sauce (We used Louisiana hot sauce. You could use something hotter, but would you really want to make a Canadian blush?)
20 oz French fries, cooked
8 oz Cheese cubes, or shredded cheese, or cheese curds
Directions:
- Fry chicken, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano until the chicken is cooked through. I like working the frying chicken around with a spatula, allowing the chicken bits to become jacketed in robust seasoning. It works. Try it.
- Add tomato sauce, beer (it’s okay to cry), and hot sauce, stirring well.
- Simmer in an uncovered pot for one hour. This gives the chili time to reduce in volume and gives the cook time to finish the beer and start another. I guess you could cook the fries while you’re at it.
- When the chili and fries have finished cooking, busy yourself with assembling the “goods”. Remember, it’s fries, then cheese, then chili.
A final note:
In all diffidence, the Chicken Chili Poutine *may* incite a secular, chili-induced rapture. Be warned.
I sincerely appreciate your time and thank you for checking out my recipe. If you find that you like this or any of my chili dishes, I have both the chutzpah and the financial means to adopt you. Do not be afraid.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
That was put together quite well, in prose and picture. I question the air quality up north with so many chili experiments going on daily though.
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Thank you for the kind words, fellow fitness fanatic. Until you pointed it out, I had never given air quality much thought. Now that you’ve made mention of it, there does seem to be a woeful lack of oxygen traveling to my brain.
Keep on rocking the awesome (and crucial) vocation.
Chili365
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All recipes have been interesting and use ingredients that are easy to shop for. I have tried several and continue to try more until 365. Some went permanently into my recipe rotation.
Love the chili 365 family that you write about.
Look forward to every recipe, witty writing. I will miss your blog on day 366 (umm, day 366, something wrong with that)
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Aw shucks. You’ve checked out my website? Thank you! I’ll have to admit that the Ranting Chef’s website is far more encyclopedic and certainly more useful than my own.
My 365 days of chili is not yet winding down. In the closing 47 days, there is much to look forward to. Next year’s project will not be chili, but there are other hobbies (like ultra marathoning) that I may wish to highlight.
Cheers
Chili365
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What heresy is this? Chicken chili poutine? As a proud Canadian I cannot stomach the insult to tradition … wait a minute!
You have some beer in there?
What kind?
How much?
Well, if you’ve got a bottle or two left over, we can sit down and talk things over. After all, hands across the border and all that. Eh? 🙂
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/121751.html
PS: No one I know says “eh”, by the way.
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Oh yes, there is beer, a double Scotch Ale (clocked in at 9% ABV). It was incredibly difficult decision to part with that smooth, delicious ale. For the sake of poutine, I had to forgo drinking a whole 3 oz (life is about sacrifice, I guess…)
Can I export my homebrew to Canada? If so, I will gladly send some to you. By the way, your website is fantastic, with some amazingly delicious food.
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Homebrew sounds pretty good. I’d rather drink a bottle of beer than most wine I’ve tried.Maybe because it’s perfectly portioned for freshness and convenience. 🙂 I think I’m more of a lager than an ale drinker, not that I can ever remember what makes them different for very long after reading up on it.
My dad made his own ‘shine from fruit in his garden but never got into making beer or wine. He passed away in 2010 and I found the remnants of a bottle in my cupboard. I decided to make limoncello with it as, even at only 60% alcohol, it was pretty potent. Here’s the result.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/196128.html
I made a couple of fun cocktails with the limoncello and hope to use the rest in some amazing desserts one of these days.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/206290.html
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I do have to say this looks really good – and all the major four food groups: Beer, potatoes, cheese & chili! I hardly know which one to put first! 🙂 My apologies to A boleyn and any other Canadians out there, but I actually went so far in my attempt to rally votes for my Denver Green Chili on my facebook page as to hint that a vote for my Chili would be a vote for USA…I hang my head in shame. I do have several ancestors that lived for generations in Canada before moving to balmy Iowa.
Good luck, fellow Chiliphile!
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Our love of chili transcends borders. All for one … scratch that. The more chili varieties out there the better the chances to convert unbelievers to a love of chili.
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🙂
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