Guinness Chili con Carne ReMake

A few years ago, I got ambitious and made a huge pot of chili con carne. It was amazing. I used a couple of bottles of Guinness stout as the liquid, and oh, my! This Guinness Chili con Carne filled my large crock pot to the very top with goodness.

Guinness Chili con Carne

But, not everyone needs a huge pot that will feed up to 12 people, and on more normal days I use a scaled down version. While I am not using all the extra Anaheim chilies, nor the third pound of meat, it can be customized and still have amazing, rich flavors, and still use the Guinness. I am fond of using Guinness stout in cooking, though I don't care for it as a drink. My taste in beer runs to the very bitter and very hoppy types. Guinness is just too "sweet" for my taste. Used in cooking though, it imparts a wonderfully rich, round flavor and depth. 

On normal days, making chili just for my husband and me, I scale the recipe back and use 2 pounds of meat. This still gives us dinner for a few days, which is great. I always use a pound of hamburger meat, and then alternate between using plain ground pork or pork sausage as the second pound of meat. I usually buy sweet Italian sausage, but hot Italian sausage can be substituted if you prefer the heat. If using sausages, remove from the casings and break up the meat as it cooks, as with the hamburger meat. 

My husband loves beans. I mean he LOVES beans. So when I would make this chili with one can of kidney beans, he asked if maybe I could add in another can of them, please? So, I use two cans of beans, but obviously this is a matter of taste. 

Up here in South Dakota, we just had our lovely spring-like weather turn into a blizzard this morning. It's still snowing, since early this AM. It seems like a really great time to make this Guinness Chili con Carne to me!

Guinness Chili con Carne

Serves 6 to 8 

Guinness Chili con Carne

3 - 4 slices bacon 
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork or pork sausage
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 small (4-ounce) cans "chopped green chilies" 
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons Barbecue Spice Mix, optional
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 - 2 bay leaves
¾ teaspoon dried oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons fresh leaves, minced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
1 or 2 (15-ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 bottle Guinness Stout

Heat a large soup pot. Cut the bacon across in ¼-inch widths and saute the bacon in the pan. Remove the bacon to drain on paper toweling, leaving 1 to 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the pot. Add in the ground beef. If using ground pork, add this in also. If using sausage, either use bulk sausage or Italian sausage. If using links, remove from casings. Break the meat up in the pot and fry until browned. Add in the onion, garlic and bell pepper and toss well until softened. Add in the chopped green chilies, chili powder, Barbecue Spice Mix, salt, bay leaves, oregano, cumin and fennel and stir in. Add in the tomato sauce and paste, then the kidney beans, reserved bacon and the Guinness stout. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer on low for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the chili from sticking to the pot.

Serve hot with cornbread on the side. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheddar and/or chopped onion.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.