Guy Fieri is known for keeping things pretty fiery and pretty fun. So why wouldn’t you want to turn to him for a great chili recipe? Those are definitely qualities you want in your chili! A little kick and some fun flavor. That’s just what you get with Guy Fieri’s Texas Chili. It has heaps and heaps of chilies but just enough spice, two kinds of beef, and a few extra goodies to take you to “flavortown.”
We made this chili as a part of our Celebrity Chili Recipe Showdown. The showdown is a fun project where we take four celebrity recipes — some celebrity chefs, some not so much — cook them, and then taste and compare them to see how they stack up. This match-up included Bobby Flay, Miranda Lambert, Guy Fieri, and Brian Baumgartner (Kevin, from The Office). We ended up with four very different chilis!
What’s in Guy Fieri’s Texas Chili?
It’s a long list, so buckle up. (It’s worth it in the end, promise.) Guy calls for:
- Ancho chilies, chilies de arbol, guajillo chilies, AND fresno chilies. Two each.
- Onion and garlic.
- Red bell pepper and Anaheim peppers.
- Chuck roast AND ground beef.
- Spices: Cumin, Oregano, Cayenne pepper, and Cinnamon. (Also a pinch of paprika.)
- Beef stock.
- A bottle of amber beer.
- Masa harina.
There is also an equally long list for a Beer Cheddar Cheese sauce, which you can find at the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Are all those ingredients worth it? Read on to find out.
How Do You Make Guy Fieri’s Texas Chili?
Guy’s recipe has quite a bit of actual chili in it so there’s some processing to be done. He has you start by toasting the ancho, arbol, and guajillo chilies and then covering them with water to soak and soften before you blend them into a puree. Then, you soften the onions, peppers, Fresno chiles, and Anaheim peppers in some olive oil before you brown ALL the beef at once — the cubed chuck and the ground beef.
The spices, stock, chili puree, and vegetables get added next and everything simmers for two hours. At that point, you stir in the paprika, beer, and masa harina, and break up some of the beef so you have more of a shredded texture.
But that’s not all. Guy also advises serving this with a Beer Cheddar Cheese sauce, crushed crackers, scallions, red onion, and some sour cream. (I told you we were going to Flavortown.)
So, How Does It Taste?
It’s great! We loved the layered flavor of all those chilies, and surprisingly, it wasn’t too spicy, it was just right. The addition of the cinnamon detracted from the rest of the flavor for us — it takes out of all that lovely smoky flavor. We also really loved the two kinds of beef, which we didn’t expect. It’s a really nice texture to have both tender shredded beef and minced beef. Overall, a really great chili that we’d absolutely borrow some techniques from in the future.
And what about that beer cheese? It was delicious too! Dom especially liked it, but I couldn’t see myself ever actually going to the trouble to make it when I’m already spending a few hours making chili. Guy has you go for a lot of toppings here but we didn’t think it needed so many — the chili itself was already so flavorful.
We made this as part of our Celebrity Recipe Showdown.
To see how it stacked up, read on here:
Celebrity Chili Recipe Showdown
You can see the other celebrity Chili recipes here:
Miranda Lambert’s Famous Chili
Brian Baumgartner’s Seriously Good Chili (From The Office)
Bobby Flay’s Black Bean Chili
Guy Fieri's Texas Chili
Ingredients
- 2 ancho chiles
- 2 dried chiles de arbol
- 2 dried guajillo chilies
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 Fresno chiles, seeded and minced
- 2 Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced
- 2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 lbs coarse ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 cups low-sodium beef stock
- 1 (12 oz) bottle beer, amber preferred
- Pinch paprika
- 3 tablespoons masa harina
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Beer Cheddar Cheese sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 (12 oz) bottle beer, amber preferred
- 2 cups sharp cheddar, grated
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch cayenne
- 5-6 turns fresh ground black pepper
For serving:
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion, minced
- 1 cup salted crackers, crushed
Preparation
- Remove the stems and some of the seeds from the ancho, arbol, and guajillo chiles, then tear chiles into large pieces. In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, toast the chiles until they begin to change color, about 2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup hot water, just to cover the chiles, then turn off heat, cover pan, and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Transfer chiles and liquid to a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- To a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, peppers, Fresno chiles, and Anaheim peppers. Cook until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl or on a sheet pan.
- Season all beef with salt and pepper, then add to Dutch oven. Cook until well browned, 7-8 minutes.
- Add garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and cinnamon, then sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add sautéed vegetables, beef stock, and Chile puree, and stir to combine. Simmer until beef is very tender and liquid has reduced, about 2 hours.
- Stir in the beer and paprika, then add the masa harina. Stir over low heat for 10-12 minutes, breaking up some of the beef to incorporate it into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with cheddar cheese beer sauce and sour cream, scallions, red onion, and crackers.
- To make the Cheddar Beer Cheese sauce:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook until nutty and fragrant but still light in color, 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in beer and half and half, whisking constantly until sauce is thick.
- Add cheddar, cream, Worcestershire, salt, dry mustard, paprika, cayenne, and pepper. Cook over low heat while still whisking, for 7-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm until ready to serve.
Recipe from Guy Fieri.