Slow cooker chili (made with dried chili peppers and chipotles)

Step 1

Heat skillet on medium high heat. Lay dried chili peppers onto the skillet and toast on all sides until lightly browned. Chilis should soften slightly as they heat.

Step 2

Move chili peppers into a bowl and gently pour boiling water over them so that they are submerged. Cover bowl and set aside. Peppers should soak for at least 20 minutes to completely soften.

Step 3

Re-heat skillet with vegetable oil on medium high. Add lean ground beef to brown. Season with salt. Break up larger chunks. When browned, place beef into the slow cooker (this recipe was created with a 5 quart slow cooker).

Step 4

Add onions to skillet and cook until softened (4-5 minutes). Add garlic, cinnamon and cloves; and stir for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes (the tomato juice should not be used here. It is being reserved for a later) and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Step 5

Tip contents of the skillet into the slow cooker, reserving 1 cup for the chili sauce.

Step 6

Wearing rubber gloves, take each chili pepper out of the water and lay them onto a cutting board. Remove the stems, slice each pepper open and scrape out the seeds. Discard the stem and seeds. Chop chili peppers and place the chipotle and the milder chilis into the blender, omitting the spicy chili peppers (like chiles de árbol) for now.

Step 7

Pour the soaking water into the blender, reserving the grit in the bottom of the bowl to discard. Blend chili peppers and water on high until a red sauce forms.

Step 8

Add 1 cup of the reserved tomatoes into the blender and continue to blend.

Step 9

Taste the sauce. It should be slightly spicier than you intend, as it will mellow when it cooks with the other ingredients. Gradually add the spicy chilis peppers and blend until desired flavour is reached.

Step 10

Empty blender into the crock pot. Stir to combine. Run the slow cooker for 6 hours.

Step 11

When slow cooker cycle is complete (or nearing its end), stir in tomato paste. Season with salt to taste.

Step 12

Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.