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With the weather quickly turning, all I can think about are warm hearty meals. What’s better than some chili on a fall afternoon! By smoking the ground beef above the chili mix, it brings a new twist to a traditional recipe. The combined taste of smoked meat and enhanced chili flavor from the meat drippings make for an Over the Top Beef Chili recipe!
Don’t miss my Over the Top White Chicken Chili and Smoked Pit Beans for a lighter option.
Table of Contents
Prepare the beef chili mix.
I’ll keep it pretty traditional with with recipe, with 1 exception. We’re smoking a big hunk of beef right over the chili! The drippings will add a ton of flavor to the chili. Take out your Dutch oven and add diced onion and a red bell pepper, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, pepper, tomato paste, tomato sauce, chicken stock and diced tomatoes with green chili. I picked the green chili diced tomatoes to give this recipe some extra heat and flavor.
Mix all the ingredient together and place the Dutch oven on the grill. I like to cook these at 300 degrees and the grill is set for indirect heat. You can also use your oven but the chili wont’ have that delicious smokey flavor.
For the beef, I used ground chuck (80%/20% mix) and hot Italian sausage meat. The Italian sausage will elevate this recipe with additional spicy and savory flavors. For the seasoning add cumin, chili, powder, cayenne and salt. Mix the meats together and form a round flat patty.
Place the formed meat patty on a wire rack and place it on top of the Dutch oven.
Recipe Tip
Shape the meat into a patty rather than a ball. It will lay flat on the wire rack and absorb more smoky flavor.
Dad’s Seasonings
Must have grillin seasonings!
Grill the over the top beef chili.
Smoke the chili and meat for 2 hours or until the meat reaches 150 degrees internal temperature. The beef drippings from the meat above will add another layer of amazing beefy goodness. For an all in one dish recipe, check out my Smoked Cowboy Casserole.
It’s time to add meat into the chili! Remove the wire rack from the grill and crumble up the beef. I like to leave the pieces slightly bigger to get a better texture in the chili. Next, place the crumbles in the chili along with pinto and kidney beans and let it continue to cook for another hour or until the beans are soft. The smokiness of the beef with the spiciness from the hot sausage, cayenne pepper and green chilis make for one over the top beef chili!
Be sure to check out my Smoked and Shredded Italian Beef Sandwich for another hearty option.
When the chili is ready, remove the Dutch oven from the grill and serve immediately. I like to garnish with Fritos chips, sharp cheddar and some hot sauce. It’s perfect for these cold winter days.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Beans are probably the most controversial ingredient in my chili recipes. The country is definitely split in half here. I say, do what you want. I always include beans. It adds texture, flavor and substance to the chili. If you are going to use beans, use both kidney and pinto beans.
The most common protein in chili is ground beef. However there are so many other alternative options. You can use such as a ground pork and beef blend, mix beef with Italian sausage or chorizo, left over brisket is another great option. For vegetarians, beans is a great protein option.
Similar Chili Ideas:
If you tried this Over The Top Beef Chili or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
Over The Top Beef Chili
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chuck 80%/20% blend
- 3 Links of hot Italian Sausage
- 1 Onion, diced
- 1 Red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup Chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Cumin
- 2 tbsp Chili powder
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 15 oz Tomato sauce
- 15 oz Diced tomatoes with green chili
- 6 oz Tomato paste
- 15.5 oz Kidney beans
- 15.5 oz Pinto beans
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 250 degrees and set for indirect heat.
- In a dutch oven add the diced onion, bell pepper, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chicken stock and diced tomatoes with green chili. Mix everything together.
- Place the Dutch oven on the grill.
- Separately, mix the ground chuck with 3 hot Italian sausage links. Be sure to remove the casing from the sausage.
- Add 1 tbsp of cumin, chili, powder and 1/2 tbsp cayenne, salt and pepper to the ground beef mixture and mix it into the meat.
- Form the beef mixture into a round flat patty and place it on a wire rack on top of the dutch oven.
- Smoke the beef until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
- Remove the wire rack from the grill and crumble up the beef. Place the crumbles back in the chili along with pinto and kidney beans.
- Continue to cook for about an hour or until the beans are soft. Remove from the grill and serve immediately. Garnish with chips, cheese and hot sauce.
Notes
- When shaping the meat into a patty rather than a ball. It will lay flay on the wire rack and get more of the smokey flavor.
- When crumbling the smoked beef patty, keep the pieces larger. This will make for a much better texture in the chili.
Good but spicy. I skipped the cayenne and still thought it was a tad too spicy (might’ve been the Trader Joe’s Hot Sausage). Ended up diluting with additional tomatoes and beans. 👌
Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try it.
Harty, warm and DELICIOUS! We love this chili recipe. I hope you will too.
The only Chili recipe that I do. The whole family love it. It is a little bit spicy for the kids so I put less cayenne. In the video you put garlic in the sauce but it is not in the ingredients. Unfortunately I have not found the diced tomatoes with green Chili here in Quebec so i just put ordinary diced tomatoes. (I smoke on the Weber performer with hickory). Keep the good work! I watch all you instagram posts!