Up next in 10
We Tested the Most Popular Chili Ingredients and Found the Winner! Cowboy Chili
Jan 21, 2026
Printable recipe below! We're not making just one chili recipe- we are testing 3 of the most popular dishes and judging which is the best! Do you like cocoa in your chili or perhaps beer? Join us for the best chili cookoff!
Used in this video:
Kent's chili seasoning https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
Bertha wood stove https://shorturl.at/5fwEj
Mesquite wood spatula https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
Cowboy apron https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
DJI Mic 2 https://amzn.to/4ewAHAw
Cowboy Hat: Chazhatz.com
Smokey Woods Wood: https://smokeywoodsbbq.com/
For more suggested products seen in our videos click here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/cowboykentrollins
======================
Printable Recipe:
https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/dark-beer-chili
https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/traditional-mexican-chili
https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/cincinnati-style-chili
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:11
You know, chili has been around for
0:13
[music] a long time, and nothing I like
0:14
better on the chuck wagon on a cold day
0:16
than a good old bowl of chili. Now, oh,
0:19
Cookie, he'd been making it long [music]
0:21
before I ever come along. And he'd make
0:23
it for them cowboys. Could have been out
0:24
of venison, could have been [music] out
0:25
of elk, maybe some jack rabbit, even
0:28
rattlesnake. But today, [music] we're
0:30
making three different kinds of chili.
0:33
Now, one is an old traditional cocoa
0:35
[music] powder chili used so many times
0:37
by Mexican cooks many years ago. And the
0:39
other one is a dark [music] beer chili.
0:42
But then we're traveling all the way to
0:43
Cincinnati. But we're going to go in a
0:44
hurry and come back because [music]
0:46
we're making a Cincinnati chili with a
0:48
little change. Three beans, but it's got
0:50
some great [music] spices in it. So,
0:51
we're putting all these to the test to
0:53
see which one is the best. But today
0:56
we're going to start off with that old
0:58
traditional Mexican chili from way down
1:00
the trail many years ago. Got [music] a
1:01
little cocoa powder in it.
1:12
Well, pound of ground beef 8020 is in
1:15
there. Little seasoning of our original.
1:17
If you ain't got that, use some salt,
1:19
pepper, garlic powder.
1:21
I was going to set that right there, but
1:23
I don't think it'd last long there.
1:27
one white onion.
1:31
And we'll just keep stirring this around
1:33
here and letting it cook till that onion
1:34
softens a little. Then we're going to
1:36
add some garlic.
1:41
Now, I guarantee you going down the
1:43
trail so many years ago, old Cookie
1:45
would have just had this over an open
1:46
fire in a big old cast iron pot
1:48
probably, and it would probably have
1:50
been wild game. There wasn't hamburger
1:53
patties or anything like that. It was
1:55
all just chunk meat, which I think
1:57
really if you cook it right and you get
1:59
it good and tender, it is a really good
2:01
way to have a bowl of chili. And
2:04
speaking of that, if you'll go back and
2:05
check out our video that we filmed in
2:07
the snow last year, Chili Colorado, it
2:10
has a chunked up chuck roast in there.
2:12
Some of the best chili I ever made in my
2:14
life.
2:16
But it is time to add some garlic.
2:21
You always put garlic in right there
2:23
sort of at the to last because you don't
2:25
want it to burn.
2:27
We'll let that just get a little flavor
2:28
incorporated in there. Then I'll meet
2:30
y'all back over to Chuck Box. There's a
2:33
big argument all over the world, but
2:36
mostly just in Texas. Okay. Why do you
2:39
put beans in your chili? Well, I'm
2:40
figuring if old Cookie had a pot of them
2:43
old pinto beans going and he just had
2:45
one little dab of jack rabbit or one
2:47
little dab of rattlesnake, he gonna make
2:49
it go further because he gonna throw
2:50
them in there. That's why I'm doing it.
2:52
Always like to make something appear
2:54
larger than what it is. And this is
2:56
going to be a better meal for it. So,
2:58
first
3:00
regular old canned pinto beans to that.
3:02
[music] Next, we're going to add the
3:03
tomato sauce to Oh, tomato paste,
3:07
forgive me. [music] Now, the reason
3:10
we're putting the beans and this in here
3:11
first is so we can mix this tomato paste
3:14
really good.
3:21
So, into that little brown sugar, little
3:25
sweetness. Here [music] comes the cocoa
3:27
powder. Now, to me, it's going to give
3:29
it, I'd say, not a sweet taste, not a
3:32
bitter taste, but a mellow taste that's
3:34
really rich. And something that helps
3:36
kick that off is what? Ancho chili
3:39
powder because it also brings out a
3:41
chocolate flavor, but you're going to
3:43
get some smoke there with it, too. So,
3:45
we gonna sprinkle some [music] in there
3:47
if it'll come out of there. Cumin just a
3:49
tad. And when you buy oregano, I really
3:53
like to buy this brand. They ain't
3:55
paying me to say it or nothing. Fiesta
3:58
dried Mexican oregano. You're going to
4:00
get more flavor out of it, I think. Now,
4:02
don't just pull them out of here and
4:03
just drop them in there. Give them a
4:04
good crumbling as you put them in there.
4:07
And it's usually to me just two little
4:10
pinches. There's a lot of great flavor
4:12
in there. To that, we're going to add
4:15
some of our chili seasoning.
4:18
And I always make chili like this, but
4:21
then I taste it when we get to going to
4:23
see if I need to add any more.
4:27
That is thick, and that's the way we
4:29
want it. So, we're going to thin it with
4:31
a little water. If you want to use beef
4:33
broth, you can.
4:36
If you're in the house, turn that burner
4:38
on about medium heat. Set it on there.
4:41
Add your meat to it. Let it come to a
4:43
boil. Let it boil four or five minutes.
4:45
And then turn that down to a simmer. Put
4:47
you a lid on it. Stir it periodically.
4:51
I'm going to let it cook about 45
4:52
minutes. And you want to make sure that
4:54
you don't lose any of that liquid. So,
4:56
you may have to add some back to it. But
4:58
the longer it simmers, the better flavor
5:00
it's going to have. Everything
5:02
incorporates the best.
5:21
Same base as before. Ground beef, onion,
5:25
little seasoning. Just let it get good
5:27
and browned over there. And while that
5:29
is sitting there just resting a little
5:31
bit, we're gonna start out this beer
5:33
chili with some Rotel. A lot of people
5:35
say, "I've never seen Rotel. You're
5:37
scaring me. What is it? Is it like
5:39
roadkill?" Close but not hard. Diced
5:41
tomatoes with green chilies.
5:43
Rotel is just the brain.
5:45
Yeah. Brand name.
5:46
Name brand.
5:47
Yeah, that's what we've always called it
5:48
is. Pick up a can of Rotel. So, get you
5:51
one of them. Dump her in there. But that
5:53
is drained. Next, kidney beans. The
5:57
reason I like the Lou kidney beans is to
5:59
me they taste sort of like a pinto bean,
6:02
but they have a little more of a nutty
6:03
flavor to them when I eat them. So I
6:05
like them undrained. Goes right in the
6:08
pot. It does. Cumin. Give it a pretty
6:11
good shake. After that, smoked paprika.
6:14
Now you could use just regular paprika.
6:17
How do you say that?
6:18
Paprika.
6:19
What? Does it taste better with the
6:20
rolled R?
6:22
Yes, it says it right here. I think it's
6:23
got six Rs in it. Paper. [snorts]
6:26
Aha. To me, this is one of the greatest
6:28
spices there is. And I really do love a
6:30
smoked paprika. It gives a lot of
6:31
flavor. Ground mustard. Remember, buy
6:34
this kind of oregano. Don't be getting
6:37
the other kind. Two pinches. Give it a
6:39
little crumble.
6:46
That come from way over the pond. It
6:48
did. Look. What does it say? Guinness.
6:51
Now, to me, I don't like dark beer. If
6:52
I'm going to drink a beer, it's going to
6:53
be really light beer. But everybody has
6:56
told me you need to use a dark beer if
6:58
you're going to cook chili. So, we're
6:59
gonna see what happens. We want about a
7:01
cup. So, we're looking at about eight
7:03
ounces here.
7:05
Oh, that hits your hat.
7:07
Uh-huh. [laughter]
7:13
We're going to call it about that much
7:14
right there. Give it a little stir.
7:19
We got to have chili seasoning. Now,
7:21
when I'm making chili at home, 2 lbs of
7:23
meat, I usually use two to three
7:25
tablespoons of this. So, we going to add
7:27
that to it.
7:31
You kind of got a messy work area here.
7:33
Well, it was them Irish people or
7:36
whoever makes this [music] Guinness
7:37
beer.
7:38
Irish.
7:38
That's what I think that was like maybe
7:40
so an explosive device. I ain't for
7:42
sure. But it got plum up on my hat, one
7:44
eyebrow, but it is good. I'm going to
7:47
take this over to Bertha just like
7:48
before. Going to have it on about medium
7:50
heat. We're going to add the meat to it.
7:52
Be ready to go. Let it simmer about 45
7:54
minutes.
7:58
[music]
7:59
Hey, before we go any further, I think I
8:01
need to give y'all some top chili
8:03
cooking tips. And number one thing is
8:05
chipotle [music] peppers and adobo
8:06
sauce. Probably my favorite ingredient
8:08
to have around. It's always on the
8:09
wagon, [music] always in the house. Now,
8:11
I didn't put it in any of these today
8:12
cuz I wanted to see the difference. And
8:14
number two thing, if you ever need to
8:16
thicken your chili, I have done it with
8:18
cornstarch [music]
8:19
and a little water. I have done it with
8:20
flour. But the best thing is to get you
8:22
some corn masa, sift a little in there,
8:25
get a whisk, and stir it up. To me, it
8:27
gives it really a rich flavor that you
8:29
want to have that old hearty south of
8:31
the border taste. And I think that masa
8:33
does the greatest job ever. Get you some
8:35
dried chilies. Cascel, guilo, [music]
8:38
ancho chili. And if you're looking for
8:40
that heat to just peek it up there on
8:41
the top, chili, they are ball. Take all
8:43
the seeds and the stem out of them. Put
8:45
them in some water. Let it come to a
8:47
boil. Let them soften. Then you can mix
8:49
that in a blender. All them chilies.
8:51
They are so much flavor coming about
8:53
when you have that first bite. But I'd
8:55
love to know what's your [music] secret
8:56
ingredient you put in your chili to give
8:58
it flavor or to spice it up. Leave me a
9:01
comment down there below cuz [music] I
9:02
might want to change my recipe and
9:04
follow y'alls. Next up on the list,
9:06
Cincinnati chili. And I am sure ready to
9:08
try it. It has some great ingredients in
9:10
it that are a little different. and also
9:13
a great history to go along with it.
9:15
Ground pork and ground beef, it's going
9:18
to give it some more flavor, I think.
9:21
Now, when you combine beef and pork
9:25
ground together, you get the taste of
9:28
that beef, but you really get a I think
9:30
to me a good southern dose of what that
9:33
sausage brings out. And that is great
9:36
flavor cuz you buy any kind you want. I
9:39
try to get that that's got a little
9:40
smoke flavor into it. But this is going
9:44
to be something I know is going to
9:46
trigger the winning vote.
9:48
Did you already say you think this is
9:49
the winner?
9:50
I think it is because I made chili a
9:52
long time ago on a ranch and I run out
9:54
of ground beef nearly and had to mix
9:56
pork with it. Everybody said, "Why ain't
9:58
we been having this kind all the time?"
10:00
So, I'm thinking this might be the
10:02
winner. We will add an onion to this
10:04
diced up. And when it gets softened up,
10:06
we'll add some garlic cloves and we'll
10:08
go from there. I'll meet you back at the
10:10
chuck box.
10:12
[music]
10:18
Cincinnati chili traces its roots back
10:20
to Greek immigrants who settled in
10:22
Cincinnati in the early [music] 1920s.
10:25
Many of them opened small neighborhood
10:27
diners and chili parlors, serving dishes
10:29
that blended oldworld flavors with foods
10:31
Americans were already comfortable with.
10:34
[music] To make their cooking more
10:35
approachable, they adapted Mediterranean
10:37
spices like cinnamon, cloves, and
10:40
allspice into a chili style meat sauce
10:42
inspired [music] by Greek meat stews,
10:44
but seasoned for American taste. The
10:47
name comes straight from the city
10:48
itself, but the style is what really
10:50
sets it apart. [music] Instead of a
10:52
thick, chunky chili, this one is
10:54
thinner, almost saucy
10:57
served over spaghetti and topped with
10:59
mountains of shredded cheese. It is a
11:02
true regional dish. born from
11:04
immigration, adaptation, and necessity.
11:07
And a great example of how American food
11:09
culture has always been shaped [music]
11:11
by the people who came here and cook
11:14
what they knew using what they had.
11:17
Cincinnati chili.
11:18
That is a lot of ingredients right
11:20
there.
11:20
It is, I'm telling you. And ingredients
11:22
I've never put in chili. I mean, things
11:24
that I didn't even know you're supposed
11:25
to put in here, but I'm trusting all
11:27
them Greek immigrants from way back. So,
11:29
first we're going to start with some
11:31
black beans, some pinto beans, cuz I
11:33
always call this too a three bean. And
11:36
some kidney beans that were drained.
11:41
Next, what do we got here? Some tomato
11:44
sauce in there. Then some of that
11:47
they're rotail. After that, coriander.
11:52
Now, I have used coriander as a meat
11:53
rub, but I've never put it in chili. So,
11:56
this we're going to see what happens.
11:58
Cinnamon. Now, this goes back really to
12:00
old Mexico because a lot of them old
12:02
cooks down there put cinnamon and cocoa
12:04
both in their chili. So, in it goes. But
12:07
also something I've never put in chili.
12:11
Oh, we might have done it right there.
12:13
Oh, is it?
12:14
It was ground nutmeg.
12:15
Uh-oh.
12:16
And it's supposed to be ground cloves.
12:18
Good thing I looked. Mhm. So, in it goes
12:21
some brown sugar. We'll give that a stir
12:23
and then we'll add the chili seasoning.
12:26
So, smoked paprika
12:30
and some chili seasoning.
12:36
I think if we had a flour tortilla right
12:38
now, we'd just quit eat this because
12:41
oh, there's a lot of flavor over here.
12:43
I'm going to meet y'all over at Bertha.
12:45
We'll add the meat to it. And to that
12:47
meat, I have roasted me a jalapeno and
12:49
diced it up and laid right in there cuz
12:51
we're going to kick it up a notch.
12:53
Another ingredient we're going to throw
12:56
in here, some butter. To that, we're
12:59
going to add the meat and the jalapeno
13:01
and the onion and the garlic.
13:05
And I don't want to let none of it jump
13:06
out.
13:09
We're going to let this simmer like the
13:10
rest of them about 45 minutes covered.
13:14
And then we will have the taste testing.
13:27
I thought I knew who was going to win
13:29
right off the bat when I put it
13:30
together, but now I really have mixed
13:33
emotions because it's so close. It is.
13:36
I I'm just going to leave it up to them
13:38
judges that are coming and let them pick
13:40
because this is the closest horse race
13:42
there's going to be. It is a photo
13:44
finish.
14:03
Well, the judges have arrived. First one
14:06
down there in that blackhead is a dear
14:07
friend of mine, Jimmy Deir, who has
14:09
probably eat more bowls of chili than
14:10
the law would allow. And our next judge
14:13
is Darren Hooker, former police chief
14:15
here in Riosa and a member of the
14:17
Village City Council. But are you
14:19
feeling a little dirty and you might
14:21
need a little pampering? Hey, that
14:23
Darren Hooker, him and his wife own the
14:25
soap store down there. You can bathe
14:27
every night of the week there with a
14:28
different bar of soap. Well, there is
14:31
the first one to judge. Now, all these
14:33
[music] chilies are different. I just
14:35
need you to just get in there, take a
14:37
hold, tell me what you think, the
14:39
flavors that you encountered, how you
14:41
feel about it.
14:42
All right,
14:44
go for it.
14:52
So, right now, that first bite there,
14:54
that's pretty smooth. Doesn't have a lot
14:56
of heat to it. Goes down real easy.
14:58
Oh, it's really smooth. And it's sweet.
15:02
Has a sweet taste to it. I'll agree with
15:04
his sweet now that he said that. I like
15:07
it to heat though.
15:08
Mhm.
15:08
Hotter the better for me.
15:09
Oh yeah.
15:10
New batch, new taste.
15:12
All right.
15:20
Right away. Maple or Mhm.
15:23
a syrupy. Most definitely. And it's got
15:26
a little more bite than [music] that
15:27
other one does.
15:29
Really good.
15:30
What's your feeling on having the beans
15:32
in it?
15:34
You got to have beans and chili. Yeah,
15:36
the beans don't bother me at all.
15:40
Well, here be the last one in
15:42
contention.
15:43
All right.
15:58
Very good. I can taste the onions in it.
16:00
Mhm.
16:03
I'm going to say this something overall
16:04
this one I'm liking this the best if I
16:06
can say that
16:07
you can't what what's what's standing
16:09
out to you
16:10
I don't know that just
16:14
it tastes more traditional maybe
16:19
I'm going to have to agree with you
16:21
and if y'all need to talk about it but I
16:23
don't know but are y'all in together on
16:26
who is the winner of this horse race?
16:29
I I think we are.
16:30
I think we are. I think we're
16:31
this one right here.
16:32
The third The third one that we had is
16:34
probably the best one.
16:36
I would or the traditional one.
16:40
Clear winner.
16:41
Clear winner.
16:41
Clear winner. Clear winner.
16:43
Oh, they didn't pick Cincinnati.
16:45
That's the second one.
16:47
Oh, interesting.
16:48
Hey, I'm like y'all. You got to have
16:50
beans in chili. It always made things go
16:52
further. [music] We always added them to
16:54
it. So, this is just one pinto bean
16:56
only. That's the only kind it's got in
16:58
there. [music] But it does have some a
17:01
little bit more of a bite to it. But the
17:03
thing that I think really threw y'all
17:05
for a loop that you didn't know what
17:06
that taste was [music] is a dark beer
17:08
that it is cooked in.
17:10
So it's just a Guinness stout which is
17:12
really creamy and rich. [music] But
17:14
that's where all the flavor I think
17:16
after you let that simmer and it comes
17:17
to you. But that is y'all's overall
17:19
winner
17:20
that you know beer is the ingredient in
17:22
the win as the winner. What are your
17:24
thoughts? Like can you taste it now or
17:26
so? I I still wouldn't be able to taste
17:28
the beer in it, but I can see where that
17:31
does give it the flavor and the
17:34
consistency that you talk about.
17:36
Well, all of them are a winner to me,
17:38
but my favorite, too, is the beer chili.
17:40
I really just like the way it tastes. It
17:42
is sort of a traditional taste to me. I
17:45
would probably heat it up a little more
17:46
with some more jalapenos or a little
17:48
adobo peppers in there. But you can't go
17:50
wrong with any three of them. Uh y'all
17:53
try them. Make them at home. Leave me a
17:54
comment. Let me know which one y'all
17:56
like the best because they're all good.
17:58
Chilly. Uh I think you could put them on
18:00
your table and be proud to serve them.
18:02
So, I tip my hat to all the servicemen
18:04
and women and all the veterans that have
18:05
kept that old flag of flying over camp.
18:07
We commend you all. Rest of y'all get on
18:09
up in here close. I'm going to give you
18:10
a big old hug. God bless you each and
18:13
every one and I'll see you down the best
18:15
[music] chili trail ever.
#Food & Drink
#Cooking & Recipes
#Soups & Stews