Smoked Lamb and Sausage Chili
Everyone loves a good bowl of chili. Chef Ben Spangler shows us his creative, innovative take on lamb chili in this dish, showing off not one, but 3 different cuts of lamb in one dish. he makes the recipe with spare ribs, sausages and ground lamb, but you could easily make it with sausages, a lamb shoulder, lamb bacon, or many other combinations of lamb meat, or maybe just ground lamb, or stew meat. Use the recipe as a guide and make the dish your own.
This recipe is by chef Ben Spangler. Hailing from Minnesota, Ben draws from his Midwestern roots to create dishes that are unpretentious and delicious. Ben has competed on national television for the Food Network and appeared on local Minneapolis food networks. He is currently executive chef at Mercy in Minneapolis.
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Smoked Lamb and Sausage Chili
Ingredients
Meat
- 2 lb Lamb Riblets spareribs
- 5 ea Lamb Sausages or substitute ground
- 2 lb Ground Lamb Optional
Rub/Cure
- 1 cup salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pink salt sodium nitrite/optional
Chili
- 1 ea onion
- 3 ea bell peppers
- 3 ea Jalapeños
- 2 ea Anaheim peppers
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 3 ea garlic cloves
- 2 cans stewed tomatoes
- 2 ea fresh tomatoes
- 2 cups red pinto beans soaked overnight in water
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 quart water or stock
- 1 Tablespoon oregano
- 2 oz sour cream
Instructions
Meat
- Mix sugar and salt with pink salt.
- Coat lamb riblets evenly with salt mixture.
- Allow to sit overnight or up to two days refrigerated.
- Rinse with water, pat dry.
- Smoke (optional) or roast on a grate over a pan for 2 hours on a low setting.
- Chill the ribs, then cut into medium dice.
- Slice sausages ½ inches thick slices.
Smoked Lamb and Sausage Chili
- Remove seeds from peppers and dice.
- Dice the onion.
- Mince garlic, cilantro and dice tomatoes.
- Open 2 cans of stewed tomatoes.
- Caramelize onions on medium heat.
- Add the lamb meat (sausage, riblets and ground).
- Add all peppers and cook lightly.
- Mix dry spices mix and add with chopped and canned tomatoes and minced cilantro (save some for plating).
- Add beans and water.
- Simmer, covered for 3-5 hours until beans are tender.
- Serve the lamb chili topped with sour cream and cilantro
