Liz Taylor loved Clyde’s chili, and so will you.
Ah, the Super Bowl. We all watch it, but some of us are really just in it for the food. If you’ve invited anyone in the latter group to your Super Bowl party (and trust us, you have, even if you don’t know it yet), you’re going to need to do more than just empty a bag of Ripples into a bowl and call it a day. Here’s what we suggest: make chili. It’s easy to prepare ahead of time and very difficult to mess up, particularly if you have a tried-and-true recipe. To help you find one, we took to Twitter last week and asked our followers for favorite versions at Washington restaurants. Chief among the picks: the chili at local chain Clyde’s. You’ll find the recipe after the jump, but first, a fun fact: According to the Clyde’s Restaurant Group, Elizabeth Taylor loved this chili so much, she had it shipped to her by the gallon.
Have a recipe you’d like sniffed out? Tweet us your request with the hashtag #RecipeSleuth.
Clyde’s Famous Chili
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound small-diced onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1½ pounds ground beef
1 25-ounce can chili beans
1 12-ounce jar chili sauce
2 tablespoons light chili powder
¼ cup dark chili powder*
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
In a heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the vegetable oil until golden brown. Add the beef to the onions and cook until it is about medium rare. Don’t stir the beef around too much—you want to have some large clumps of beef in the finished product. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until just blended. (It may seem like a lot of powder, but that’s why they call it chili!)
Cook the chili over medium heat for about ten minutes, just until the meat is fully cooked. Don’t overcook it! Serve with ice cold beer and condiments such as shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and minced onions.
Serves six to eight.
*Light chili powder has more of the hot seeds or flakes ground with the pods. Using more of the dark powder makes this chili a little sweeter. If you can’t find light chili powder, use a little extra of the dark powder.
