Best Midwest Chili Recipe

I'm a recipe nerd.  You know it, I know it.

There are recipes you stumble upon, and then there are recipes that find you at exactly the right moment, the first cold weekend of fall, a football game on the TV, the fridge looking a little thin. This is that recipe. It's loosely inspired by the beloved Flatlander Chili that's been quietly winning hearts and chili cook-offs across the internet for years, but we've made one upgrade that changes everything: Creamery Creek Dry Aged Ground Chuck.

I checked my printout (because that is how I saved recipes in 2008) and the tomato splattered recipe sheet is still in use.  With my own Creamery Creek twist, of course!

Why the Beef Is Everything

You can dress up a pot of chili with all the spices in your cabinet, but if the beef is bland, watery, or just... fine textured, the whole thing will be fine too. And fine is not what we're going for here.

Our Ground Chuck comes from our own dry-aged beef, which means the flavor has had time to concentrate and deepen in ways that fresh-ground beef simply can't replicate. It's beefy in the most unapologetic, savory sense of the word. When you brown it in a hot pan, it smells like something worth stopping everything for. That deep, nutty, rich aroma is your first clue that this pot of chili is going to be different.

Use two pounds for this recipe. Don't substitute it out. 

The Recipe: Best Midwest Chili

Serves 8-10 | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 1.5 hours | Total: About 2 hours

Ingredients

- 2 lbs Creamery Creek Dry Aged Ground Chuck
- 1 (46 oz) can tomato juice
- 1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1½ cups chopped yellow onion
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 2 whole bay leaves
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp white sugar
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 cups canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Let's Make It

Step 1: Brown the beef and do it right.

Place your Ground Chuck in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Do not crowd it, do not stir it constantly, and for the love of all things flavorful, do not drain the fat too aggressively. That rendered fat is flavor. Let the meat get some color on it deep brown, not gray. This takes about 8-10 minutes. Once it's cooked through, crumble it up, drain off the excess (not all of it), and set it aside.

Louisa tip: A hot pan and patience are your best friends here. If the meat steams instead of sears, your pan isn't hot enough. Turn it up.

Step 2: Build the pot.

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, combine every single ingredient, the browned beef, the tomato juice, the tomato sauce, all the vegetables, all the spices, the sugar, the beans. Everything goes in at once. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.

Yes, it really is that straightforward. The long simmer does all the work, and this is where that ground chuck shines over regular ground beef.

Step 3: Low and slow is the move.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, slightly covered (because splatter), for 1 to 1½ hours. Stir it occasionally. The liquid will reduce, the flavors will marry, and somewhere around the 45-minute mark your kitchen is going to smell absolutely incredible. 

Don't rush this part. The simmer is where the magic happens.

Sincere Notes from Someone Who's Made This Many Times

On the tomato juice: It makes this chili more liquid than some people expect, especially when you're used to thick Texas-style chili. That's the nature of the Midwest chili it's a saucier, brothier bowl. And that's really because we all love that big dollop of sour cream on top and this mix takes it really really well.  If you prefer yours thicker, hold back about a cup of the tomato juice and add it in toward the end only if needed. You can always add; you can't take away.

On the spice level: The ⅛ tsp of cayenne is genuinely mild. This recipe, as written, is a crowd-pleaser for all ages and heat tolerances. If you want a kick, double the cayenne or add a diced jalapeño with the other vegetables. If you're cooking for kids or heat-sensitive folks, leave it exactly as is.

On leftovers: This chili is better the next day. It's embarrassingly better the next day. Make it on Saturday, eat it on Sunday. Or make it on Sunday and have the best lunch of your week on Monday. It also freezes beautifully, portion it into quart containers and you have dinner covered for weeks.

On the beans: Red kidney beans are called for here, but this isn't a hill worth dying on. Black beans work. Pinto beans work. A mix works. If you're feeding a crowd of bean skeptics (we all know one), simply add less or leave them out, the chili holds up just fine without them.  Or mix and match, your preference.

Variations Worth Knowing About

Make it in the slow cooker. Brown the beef first (this step really does matter, don't skip it), then add everything to the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5. The result is deeply flavorful with almost zero hands-on time.

Add a little smoke. A teaspoon of smoked paprika alongside the chili powder adds a subtle smokiness that plays beautifully with the dry-aged beef. It's a quiet addition that makes people say "I can't put my finger on it, but this is really good."

Sauté the vegetables first. If you have an extra 10 minutes and want even more depth, cook the onion, celery, and bell pepper in a little butter or olive oil before adding them to the pot. The caramelization adds another layer of sweetness and savoriness that you'll notice.

A spoonful of cornmeal. One of the oldest tricks in the chili book, stir in ¼ cup of fine cornmeal about 20 minutes before you're done. It thickens the chili gently and adds a barely-there corn flavor that somehow ties everything together.

How to Serve It

Top with shredded sharp cheddar, a big dollop of Wisconsin sour cream, sliced green onions, and crushed crackers or a thick slice of cornbread on the side. 

This chili also makes an exceptional chili dog situation. Just saying.

A Note on Why We Do What We Do

We dry age our beef because we believe the extra time and care produces something meaningfully better, not just marginally better. It's not a marketing thing. It's the reason we branched off into the beef business at Creamery Creek: because we wanted to eat food that actually tasted like food, and we know you do too.

This recipe is a perfect example of what happens when simple, quality ingredients are treated with a little patience. There's no fancy technique here. There's no exotic ingredient list. There's just really good beef, a well-seasoned pot, and about two hours of your afternoon.

Make it once and you'll understand what all the fuss is about.

Find our Dry Aged Ground Chuck and other cuts. Questions about our beef or process? We love hearing from you.

XOXO, 

Louisa