In episode 56 Taryn talks through how to make chicken chili with black beans. The fourth episode in a series about smoking a whole chicken, this recipe is perfect for taking some of that leftover meat and turning it into another meal. Warm and hearty, chicken chili is a great dish to feed your family on a cold day!
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.
RECIPES MENTIONED
These are some of the recipes mentioned in the episode, all of which are on Hot Pan Kitchen.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Some of the following are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Episode 55: Making Chicken Stock
- Episode 54: Smoking a Whole Chicken
- Episode 53: Spatchcocking a Chicken
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
Transcript
Taryn Solie: Hello grillers, and thank you for tuning in today! I am your host, Taryn Solie, and I am here to give you some grilling inspiration. In this episode, I will be going over one recipe in detail from my recipe website, Hot Pan Kitchen, including the full ingredient list and instructions as well as some tips and tricks to help you along the way.
Today’s episode is the fourth in a series about one of the most popular proteins to cook – chicken. The first three episodes covered spatchcocking a chicken (episode 53), smoking a chicken (episode 54), and making stock from a cooked chicken carcass (episode 55).
Since we already covered how to use the carcass, today I’ll be going over a recipe that uses that smoked chicken meat – this could either be leftovers or you could smoke the chicken for this purpose. So get ready to make some black bean chicken chili.
This dish is great when it’s cold out and you want something warm to heat you up. It’s also nice because nearly everything you use is already cooked or comes out of a can. The only thing you’re actually cooking is the onion and garlic, all the other ingredients are just being heated up together. And I love using smoked chicken in this recipe because the flavors complement each other really well.
To start, let’s go over the ingredients you’ll need:
- ½ a tablespoon of olive oil;
- ½ a large onion that’s been diced – about 1 and ⅓ cup;
- 2 garlic cloves that have been pressed or minced;
- 1 small can of mild green chiles;
- a 14.5 oz can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes;
- a 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed;
- 1.5 cups of low sodium broth, with potentially up to another cup if you need to thin your chili out a bit;
- 12 ounces of frozen corn kernels;
- 1.5 tablespoons of chili powder;
- 2 and ⅛ teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt;
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin;
- ½ a teaspoon smoked paprika; and
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, which is roughly 1 extra large breast.
I don’t have too many notes or tips for this recipe as it’s really quite straight forward. I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is how easily you can customize this recipe to your needs. You can use hot green chiles or add in some cayenne pepper if you want more spice, you can use a different type of bean, you could use a different type of meat, etc. I typically use chicken breast in this recipe, but you could use dark meat chicken from the thigh or leg, or this recipe would work really well with leftover turkey if you’re listening to this around the holidays.
That said, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
One, when you add in the pressed or minced garlic into the pot at the beginning of this recipe, you want to keep stirring it so it doesn’t burn. Garlic can burn easily if it’s left to sit so keep an eye on it!
Two, if you can’t find fire roasted crushed tomatoes you can use regular canned tomatoes. Fire roasted tomatoes will add another level of flavor to the chili but it will still taste good with regular tomatoes. If you only have canned whole tomatoes, be sure and give them a couple of pulses in a blender or food processor to break them up before adding them into the chili.
And the last thing is a note about kosher salt. I used Diamond Crystal brand, which is less salty by weight than other kosher salts. I do this because it leaves more room for error and I’m less likely to over-salt my meals. If you’re using another brand of kosher salt I would use less – start with half the amount used in the recipe and add more at the end if needed.
Okay, let’s get to how to make this chili!
Start out by putting a large pot over medium heat and adding the oil. Let it warm for a minute or two then place the diced onion in it and add an eighth of a teaspoon of the kosher salt. Stir it together with a wooden spoon and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so the onion doesn’t brown or blacken.
Add in the pressed garlic and cook another minute, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn. Next measure out and add in the spices, stirring and cooking an additional minute until you can really smell them.
Now add in the black beans, mild green chiles, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and frozen corn to the pot, stirring to mix it all together. Increase the heat on the stovetop burner to high and bring it all to a boil – this will take a good 4 to 5 minutes. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat on the burner to low and let the mixture simmer for 6 minutes.
After the corn and bean mixture is warmed through, add in the shredded cooked chicken and continue cooking on low until everything is warmed through, about 5 more minutes. At this point you want to – very carefully! – taste the chili and add in more salt if you’d like. Once it’s salty enough for you, you can scoop it into bowls, pile some toppings on it, and eat!
Now, there are a whole mess of toppings you could put on this chili – of course sour cream and shredded cheese come to mind. But also chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeno, maybe some chopped green onions or of course, avocado.
When my family eats this dish we tend to make it our whole meal, with maybe a side of fruit or something. You could also have tortilla chips with it, or better yet, cornbread. You could even have a salad with it if you want to round it out a bit. I’ll link to some side dish options on the show notes page.
And speaking of the show notes page, I’ll put a link to the recipe post there that has these instructions written out with photos if you’re more of a visual learner and want to see how it’s made. To get the show notes page, you can either go to my main website at Hot Pan Kitchen dot com and click on podcast in the main menu, or you can click on the link provided in whatever podcast app you’re listening on.
If you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t miss out on the next episode in this chicken series, which is the last, where we’ll be going over one more recipe to use up any remaining leftover chicken meat you may have! Be sure and listen in for that.
That’s it for today, thank you so much for listening, and until next time, keep grilling like a mother.
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