The number one most google searched food item in the month of February is Chili, so I made sure this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket recipe was on point! I am guessing it’s because of the Super Bowl, and if you are looking for a recipe then this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket is exactly what you should make. Not chicken wings, potato skins, or any other thing that you love to make and eat for the big game. I love chili for the simple fact that to me it means FOOTBALL. Yes, I’m obsessed I get it but hey we all have our TV watching struggles lol.
About Texas Chili
I don’t say this lightly but this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket is the best chili I have ever made, and believe me I’ve made quite a few in my day. My favorite used to be my white chicken chili until I made this Texas Style Chili and now this is number 1! Yes, I know most Texas Style Chili recipes do not have beans in it, look I get it. However, my inspiration for calling this a “Texas Style Chili” was because I finished it with chocolate and cinnamon and brisket which quite a few Texans do. And no offense, but I love beans in my chili, it’s a must and well it’s my recipe so I get to do what I want :-). YES I KNOW TEXAS CHILI IS BEANLESS BUT I DON’T CARE!!!
For some reason chili is just one of those things that is hard too perfect. I mean there are so many different ingredients, from the beans, to the meat, the correct amount of seasonings and spices, too many things to get right! I also like the fact that chili can be so versatile with all of the different ingredients you can put in it. Heck I just made a vegan chili with sweet potato and kale and it was THE BOMB!! Who knew?? I also like the fact that you can pick and choose your spicy peppers for the perfect amount of heat. Guess what if you don’t like the fact that I used jalapeños in my Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket and want something hotter, then go get yourself a habanero pepper, just don’t come crying to me when your mouth is on fire. It’s all about balance, remember that.
Here’s How to Make the Slow Cooked Brisket
The first thing I threw away when making this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket recipe was time. I literally had to put zero time constraints on this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket recipe so that I could cook the meat properly, as well as caramelize the onions properly. When you take the time to caramelize your vegetables it literally takes on a completely different flavor and is just so delicious. I mean think about it, a raw onion or a sweet caramelized onion?! Exactly what I thought! If you’ve ever smoked brisket, then you know firsthand just how long it takes to cook. I mean honestly it takes like 18+ hours to smoke a brisket and for it to be done correctly, so it is definitely a labor of love. Well thank the good Lord for slow cookers because we don’t have to worry about cooking the brisket for that long, however it does still take about 8 hours, which is quite a bit of time. I also like to start by searing the brisket first to get a nice crust on it before I add it to the slower cooker to be broken down. Something just weird about putting raw protein and letting a slow cooker cook it. I’m odd I know.
The end result of this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket recipe is absolutely insane and while I haven’t had time to make it again, there is zero doubt in my mind that this Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket will be the recipe that I make. If you think you have a better recipe I want to see it, so send it my way in the comments below or on social media. Enjoy!
A quick shot of the Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket without any of the fixin’s. A lot of goodness going on above for Pinterest!
Texas Style Chili with Slow Cooked Brisket
Ingredients
For the Brisket:
- 4 pound brisket
- 2 bottles of stout beer
- 28 ounce can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Chili:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 small diced yellow onion
- 1 small iced red onion
- 6 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 seeded and small diced jalapeños
- 1 seeded and small diced poblano pepper
- 2 small diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 seeded and small diced red bell pepper
- 1 seeded and small diced green bell pepper
- 2 cans of strained and rinsed chickpeas
- 2 cans of strained and rinsed black beans
- 2 cans of strained and rinsed kidney beans
- two 28 ounce cans of whole plum tomatoes and juice
- two 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
- two 28 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes and juice
- ½ cup of chili powder or to taste
- 1/3 cup of cumin or to taste
- ¼ cup of dry oregano or to taste
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon or to taste
- 4 ounces of dark chocolate
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Tomato paste as needed
Instructions
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Season the brisket generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Next add the olive oil to a very large sauté pan on high heat and brown the brisket on all sides.
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Once the brisket is caramelized, add it to a slow cooker along with stout beer, can of chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper, and cook on high heat for 8 hours.
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After the brisket has cooked for 4 hours, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a very large pot on medium-high heat. Next, add in the onions and garlic and caramelize. Once the onions and garlic are brown, add in the peppers and cook for 10 minutes on high heat.
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Add in the beans, tomatoes, and seasonings (except the chocolate) and stew on low heat for until the brisket is finished cooking.
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Once the brisket is done, pull it apart using two forks so that it is completely shredded. Add the entire pot of brisket including the beer and tomatoes to the pot of chili.
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Thicken with tomato paste if need be. Finish by stirring in chocolate and seasoning with salt and pepper.
I agree with Chef Parisi, this is the best chili I’ve ever had. I didn’t vary from the recipe at all other than making a 10 pound brisket due to the high fat content which required me to oven roast the meat instead of putting it in a slow cooker. It is absolutely fantastic.
Made this today – modified by smoking the brisket, but combining all other pot items, simmered for about 3 hours. After the brisket was done (17 hours + 2 hours rest), I chopped about 4lbs of the flat and added to the pot items. It was a fan-favorite at my work chili competition. I will probably halve the chocolate next time. (I wonder if various cocoa content should affect the amount to use.)
Well ! It is about 4:30 am and my alarm just woke me to get up and shred the brisket into the chili pot that is simmering! Plus I seasoned it with a little salt & pepper & threw in the dark chocolate ! It has a nice flavor! I have made two other different varieties of chili and having a few people over this evening to critech the three? Then I am the next day taking the one that everyone votes on to a Chili cook-Off? See which one makes it? I have a feeling it maybe your recipe?
Awesome! Hope it all turns out great 🙂
How many will this recipe feed?
12-15
I had some smoked brisket in the freezer so I decided to use it to make some chili. I found this recipe and it looked interesting, but since I only had about a pound of brisket I seasoned some ground pork and some ground beef and added those. I scaled back on the quantities of the ingredients to account for about 3 lbs of meat, but other than that I followed the recipe. I was reluctant about the chocolate and cinnamon but I added them anyway. After the first few bites I was like, I don’t know about this. By the time I finished a small bowl I couldn’t stop eating it. This is the best damn chili I ever ate! I can’t explain the cinnamon flavor, but it works.
Oh man that is so awesome to hear, thank you so much for commenting on it. I feel the same way, I don’t know why it’s good but it just is hah. Cheers my friend!
I want to enter a Chili cook-off competition. Since people will only be taking a few bites to try, would this be a good recipe to use? It sounds amazing, but just wanting another opinion before I put in the work.
Heck yeah it would! Honestly to this day this is still the best chili I’ve ever made and eaten. However, as you can tell by the ingredient and procedure list it is a labor of love so you have to be patient. Remember, soup always taste better on day 2 and 3. Good luck!
Hi there – am desperate to cook this and wonder what would happen if I added the beans / peppers / onions to the slow cooker after I prepared them – does that work?
They would maybe just break down more because of the long cooking time, but the flavor should still be there!
Thanks for that – what about adding dried beans? Too ambitious?
Nah, you could do that. I’d soak them first though.
It worked and it’s delicious! Texas chili in the cold grey English countryside – thank you!
BIll! This looks great. In order to try to keep this ‘authentic Texas’ category for a Superbowl cook off that I am entering, do you think it would still be good without the beans? 6 cans of beans is a lot of substance and I’m not sure it would be thick enough if I didn’t add them. It would probably serve far less people, granted. Maybe I’d up the size of the brisket, and try to cube it, instead of shred it. You’re the expert! What do you think? ( I personally think it sounds good with the beans, but that’s besides the point.)
Nick- Great question, this is a Texas style chili in that I use brisket. You are correct thought because a true Texas chili is beanless. You could absolutely try to cube the beef. I would suggest doubling the vegetables and using more tomato paste to ensure it is thick. I would also remove the liquid from the tomato juice in the cans and let the tomatoes cook out the juice. Hope that helps? It’s a super tasty chili with the beans!
Gotta know ASAP! HOW MANY DOES THIS SERVE?
It makes a little more than 2 gallons, so honestly quite a lot. If you figure 6 ounces per person, then you’ll have around 42 bowls.
Have you ever smoked the Brisket for this recipe? Do you think it will mess with the tast?
I have thought about it. I’m not sure it would hurt it, but it would for sure change up the flavor and provide quite a bit of smokiness too it. Give it a try! P.S. This soup makes a lot!
so we have decides to half the recipe. One half with the slow cooker and the other smoked. I will keep you posted.
Working on this chili, and I think the stout and chocolate are going to give it some great depth…even though I trimmed the fat cap, the slow cooker ingredients are pretty fatty.. should I skim some fat before adding to the chili? Also I made it milder by swapping Anaheim Peppers for jalapeño, and used a couple of cans of hatch green chiles instead of chipotles l…
I made this without the beans since I live in Texas and was entering this into a chili competition at work. I didn’t want to get ribbed for bringing stew to a chili competition. I smoked my brisket for 4 hours then finished it off in a slow cooker with a bottle of Guinness. The brisket turned out to be phenomenal and I initially struggled with the thought of shredding it and adding it to a chili. It was so good on it’s own, I didn’t want to ruin it. Since I only used the one beer with the brisket I added the second to the chili base which I allowed to stew for 4 hours as the brisket was breaking down in the slow cooker. After shredding the brisket I added it to the chili and allowed it to stew for 2 more hours. In total this was a 10 hour labor of love and the results were incredible, absolutely freaking incredible…
After letting it cool I placed it in the fridge and let it mingle for 2 days, until time to compete. The competition was fierce and the judging was intense. Even without the beans I received my fair share of ribbing, “what’s this green stuff (green bell peppers), what’s this red stuff (red bell peppers), Texas chili doesn’t have bell peppers, nice stew”. Then came the, “whoa, that is good, I need this recipe, please, please, give me this recipe, this is the best chili I’ve ever tasted, dang son that’s some good stuff”. It took 1st place and I am now known around these parts as the chili guy.
This turned out to be not only the best chili I’ve ever tasted, it was up there as one of the best tasting dishes I’ve ever put in my mouth, of any kind. By far the best thing I’ve ever cooked. For me, the heat was perfect, enough to categorize it as chili but not so much you couldn’t eat an entire bowl. Lastly, the brisket I was worried about ruining was not ruined, it was melt in your mouth perfected…
Man this is the best s tory ever! I am so glad that it worked out for you and great idea on smoking the brisket for a few hours first!
Great post @TheChiliGuy… Since you omitted the beans altogether, did you adjust any of the ingredients / amounts? I am planning to do exactly as you did… smoke the brisket a few hours, then finish in slow cooker, etc. Thanks for sharing!
Really can’t wait to try this recipe! One question though – looks like 168 oz of tomatoes are called for. Did I read that correctly? Seems like a lot, but maybe some of the liquid cooks off?
That’s right and yes this recipe makes a ton! Feel free to back off a bit and cut it in half.
Hello, looks great! I am starting on the list for a big dinner tonight but seems like that with so much liquid there will be lacking a LOT of meat. If I double the meat quantity (or double using pork shoulder) will it be OK? Whole brisket or just the flat is recommended?
Id be careful doubling it, the chili ends up pretty thick!
It’s almost done and my house smells so amazing!!! Can’t wait to eat dinner!!!
My mouth is watering just reading this recipe! However, I absolutely loathe chickpeas. Would this dish taste significantly different if one were to substitute lentils?
By the way, I don’t care whether it’s called “chili” or a “stew”. If it tastes good I’m fine with it.
you should be fine with lentils, just know they will suck up a lot of liquid.
Couple of questions –
1) what type rub would you recommend for smoking the brisket instead of slow cooker? Simple salt at pepper?
2) why stout beer? Would another style of beer change much?
3) specific type dark chocolate or at least cocoa %?
4) if I’m cutting in half, cut everything in half or will some of the spices/seasoning be too strong? Ask this because I’ve cut recipes down before only to find one of the flavors too strong
Thanks
All great questions Kenny!
1) I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to smoking so I’m always a Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper kind of guy.
2) I like the chocolatey dark flavors stout brings and think it works well with this recipe, but you can absolutely try something different like a porter or dark ipa.
3) I used a 60% cocoa bittersweet.
4) Well I’ve never cut the recipe in half but if you do then I would use 1/3 of the seasonings just to see where you stand and at the end if it needs more feel free to add. You can always add more, but can never take away.
Thanks for the reply, can’t wait to try this out once it cools off again!
This is a great thread! Looking forward to making it. @Kenny – How did your version turn out when halving the recipe / using 1/3 for spices?
Hi @Chef Billy Parisi – It’s time to make this chili! I just want to confirm that the recipe calls for a total of 6 28-oz cans of tomatoes for the chili (plus 1 for the brisket in the slow cooker)… Is that accurate? Thanks!
Yes, but some people have complained that they do not like the flavor of the chili after they place the juices from the crock pot into it. This thing seriously makes a TON of chili so be sure to play with the flavor a bit and use this recipe as a guide and not gospel.
Awesome. Thanks for the quick confirmation. I’ll let you know how it goes. (I smoked my brisket using Oak and a little mesquite). Cheers.
Just want to be sure, because I have cooked brisket in my slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours on low heat and it turned out tender. On your recipe, you use high heat for 8 hours. I just want to confirm the “high” heat, because I am worried it might overcook the brisket.
I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks the perfect complete meal, as I am staying away from the carbs.
my slowcooker cooks on the lower side so high worked for me. If you can get it tender to where it pulls apart so stick with that. Thanks for asking! Also, some people didn’t like the flavors in the juices from the crockpot when they added it into the chili pot so add a little bit at a time until it tastes good.
Very well done recipe. I modified it slightly by smoking my brisket for 6 hours before putting it in the slow cooker for an additional 6 hours. I cut down by 1 can of chopped tomatoes and fortified it with a little beef base. I also cooked the tomato paste down after the peppers were done to soften the bite. The end result was awesome!
man that is awesome to hear! Great job on making it work for you 🙂
I made this recipe for a work chili cook-off. I smoked the brisket. I made the recipe 1/3 smaller and I halved the spices. My whole family loved it! To me, this was the best chili I’ve ever tasted. Unfortunately, not everyone at work agreed and I did not win the competition. I think some didn’t like it because it wasn’t “traditional” (a more traditional chili won). It did, however, create the biggest buzz, and I think it was easily most people’s second favorite.
man so glad it turned out for you and glad you liked it. It was the best chili I had ever eaten too!!
What size crock pot is everyone using? I have a large 6.5 quart but I am thinking it is not going to fit.
I use an 8 qt, but honestly this make a ton of chili so I would look at cutting it in half. Also be careful with the leftover juices from the crock pot and adding it to the soup as some did not like the flavor after they put it in there, so be mindful to add a bit and taste it.
I am Making the chili now and could not find the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce- is there an alternative? Thank you for the recipe!
I would add in some other kind of spicy pepper if you can’t use chipotles.