Quick Hearty Beef Brisket & Butternut Squash Chili
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It’s hard to put exactly what this chili is in the title alone, so I hope I didn’t mislead you, but this will be a pretty vague recipe is you don’t do home canning. Sorrryyyyyyyyy. But if you do can, and you use quite a few of my recipes, this will be a super crazy mega easy meal of dump, heat, and eat. I do prefer to let this gently simmer on my stove for about 4-6 hours as I find that that just gives it a bit better flavor and allows things to meld as opposed to slapping it together and boiling really quick. But whatever gets food on the table as well. You could also add this all to a slow cooker and let it heat on low, or even warm, all day long. It makes the house smell LOVELY.
I slapped this chili… maybe it’s not even a chili, but that’s what I’m calling it and you can get over it or go away. But, I slapped this chili together while I was making lunch and it turned out really good. In my house, a proper chili is a meat AND bean chili and I will hear no more of it from you Texans! I’m from OHIO, so this isn’t a Texas chili recipe… I will fight you. You know who you are (love ya!). LOL I was downstairs in my creep-tastic cellar with all the spooders and mice and sandstone and dirt staring at my larder wondering… what concoction could I toss together today for a hearty meal, especially since the temps are plummeting and snowmageddon (apparently) starts tomorrow. We’ll be well into the negatives for over a week and I’m ready for it! Cold means no flies! YAYAYAYYA
When you start canning, learning how to use the food you preserve can be a learning curve. And also learning what TO can that you will enjoy. There’s so many recipes out there and so many wonderful people that share them and we all have our opinions about canning and the ingredients. I’m down to try anything once and will form my opinion from there. But, I’m all about beans, meat, and anything tomato. I didn’t can the butternut squash in this recipe, but rather I did grow it in my garden, cured it, and then stored it in my creepy cellar to use later this winter. And it’s store phenomenally down there! Goodness, I just love my old farmhouse basement. The people in the 1800s knew what the heck was up.
I also gotta sneak a funny story about my Mom in here in case she reads this blog post. She canned “chili con carne” and told me about it last year and was like I had so many tomatoes I went ahead and thawed some beef and made chili con corn. CHILI CON CORN. I still chuckle about that. My mother is a chronic mis-pronouncer of everything, so when she says some things right it makes you snap your head and make sure she’s okay. It will forever be chili con corn for the rest of here life even though she was quickly corrected by my brother that it is carne… which my mom pronounced as corn. I’m chuckling now just thinking about it. Because it took me a bit to realize what she was talking about! Love you Mom!
Let’s make dinner (or lunch)!
Equipment You Might Want:
- Medium Stock Pot or Large Dutch Oven
- Spoon
- Jar Lid Opener
Ingredients:
- 1 quart home canned beef brisket (or leftover brisket… smoked is amazing)
- 1 quart home canned tomato sauce
- 1 quart home canned chili beans
- 1 quart home canned chili mix (tomatoes, onions, & green bell pepper)
- 1 pint home canned black beans
- 1/2 large butternut squash, peeled & cubed
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
Step 1: Mix
Add all ingredients to a medium (at least 4 quart) stock pot. Stir
Place over medium low heat and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and allow to bubble, uncovered, all afternoon, about 4 hours.
Alternatively, add everything to your slow cooker and cook on low or warm for 6-8 hours.
You can also mix everything and heat quickly over medium-high heat until it boils and heat through for about 5-10 minutes and serve if you’re in a bind for time.
Step 2: Serve
If your chili is too thick, add a little beef broth until it’s thinned to your liking. I can my tomato sauce pretty darned thick, so this chili tends to be thiccckkuuuhhhhhh… which I like :D
Ladle into a bowl and serve with a dollop of sour cream and some homemade cornbread made with freshly milled popcorn.
Step 3: Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate and consume with a couple days.
Freeze in serving size cubes using silicone molds (like souper cubes) for later. If the Lord’s freezer is still in full swing, all you gotta do is put them puppies out on the porch for a couple hours!
Ladle into pints or quart jars and process in a pressure canner for meat times. The butternut squash will get very soft, but you’ll have the flavor!
Notes:
Sub the brisket for ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, ground goat, store-bought rotisserie chicken, groundhog stew meat or whatever meat you enjoy.
If you don’t have chili beans canned, use kidney beans or red beans and add extra spices. Pinto beans and white beans (great northern beans) are also great. I’m not the chili police, so you go ahead and use whatever beans you got on hand beebeeee. 2 cans of beans from the store are close enough to 1 quart of home canned beans.
Use whatever spices you enjoy and taste your chili and adjust. Add cayenne or red pepper flakes or ancho chiles for more spice, fresh garlic, or green chiles. Whatever you enjoy for chili spices, season your chili that way. I don’t enjoy heat, but I do have a brother that enjoys being punished while he eats soup, so I understand but will not partake. I’d like to taste my food, not be set on fire by it.
Sub the butternut squash for cubed pie pumpkin or sweet potatoes.
I hope you enjoy this butternut squash chili recipe like I do. Soup is one of my favorite comfort foods when it’s cold, snowy, or rainy!
Equipment
- Medium Stock Pot or Large Dutch Oven
- spoon
- Jar Lid Opener
Ingredients
- 1 quart home canned beef brisket
- 1 quart home canned tomato sauce
- 1 quart home canned chili beans
- 1 quart home canned chili mix
- 1 pint home canned black beans
- 1/2 large butternut squash peeled & cubed
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium (at least 4 quart) stock pot. Stir
- Place over medium low heat and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and allow to bubble, uncovered, all afternoon, about 4 hours.
- Alternatively, add everything to your slow cooker and cook on low or warm for 6-8 hours.
- You can also mix everything and heat quickly over medium-high heat until it boils and heat through for about 5-10 minutes and serve if you’re in a bind for time.
- If your chili is too thick, add a little beef broth until it’s thinned to your liking. I can my tomato sauce pretty darned thick, so this chili tends to be thiccckkuuuhhhhhh… which I like :D
- Ladle into a bowl and serve with a dollop of sour cream and some homemade cornbread made with freshly milled popcorn.
Leftovers
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate and consume with a couple days.
- Freeze in serving size cubes using silicone molds (like souper cubes) for later. If the Lord’s freezer is still in full swing, all you gotta do is put them puppies out on the porch for a couple hours!
- Ladle into pints or quart jars and process in a pressure canner for meat times. The butternut squash will get very soft, but you’ll have the flavor!
