Beef and Lamb Chili

1 – 1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat cut into 1 inch or smaller cubes (Millgate or

Snake Hill Farm)

1 lb. ground lamb (Great American Lamb)

2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups) (Don Anna Farm)

1/4 cup of olive oil (The Olive Tap)

1/2 – 1 cup of beer of choice (lager-type, lighter beers recommended)

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

2 varieties of beans (Alta Mae Farms, be sure to ask for soaking directions)

2 Tbsp. chili powder (Blaze Gourmet)

1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. cumin

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Saute onions in olive oil in a large stew pot. Sprinkle a bit of salt on the beef while the onions cook.

Once onions are slightly translucent, push them to one side using a wooden spoon. Add the beef chunks to the remaining area and do not move. After a few minutes of sizzling, give the meat a stir and try to flip the majority of the pieces over. Let the meat sear and brown on at least two sides.

Add the ground lamb and brown.

Once all the meat is browned, pour the beer in and using a wooden spoon, rub on the bottom of the pot where the brown bits leftover from searing the meat lock in all the flavor and dissolve them in the beer. Then lower the heat and add the chili powder, cayenne pepper and cumin. Stir well.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Stir the meat and onions off the bottom and into the sauce. Fill the tomato sauce can with water and pour into the pot. Stir.

Allow the pot to come to a boil, raise heat if necessary. Add soaked beans to pot. Stir.

Cover the pot and leave on medium heat for about an hour. Stir occasionally. Once heated it is technically ready to eat, but giving it a longer slower time allows the meat to become more tender, and allows the flavors to develop and blend. The lamb flavor should permeate just about everything else in the pot.

***Remember to soak those beans!