Over the Top Chili

Smoky, savory, and packed with bold flavor, this Over the Top Chili slow-cooks into the ultimate cozy, crowd-pleasing meal. Bold, smoky, and unapologetically savory, this Over the Top Chili is comfort food taken to the next level with true wood-fired flavor. Slow-smoked on a Yoder Smokers YS640S pellet grill using hardwood pellets, a BBQ-rubbed loaf of ground beef cooks above a Dutch oven of chili, letting rich, savory fat drip down and build incredible depth as it smokes. Bacon-rendered onions, peppers, and garlic form a flavorful base, layered with warm cumin, chili powder, cayenne, tomatoes, and hearty beans, all slowly melding together at 225°F. As the chili absorbs clean hardwood-pellet smoke and the beef is spritzed to stay juicy, the flavors deepen and mellow into something truly special. Finished by shredding the perfectly smoked beef directly into the pot, this chili delivers bold smokiness, meaty richness, subtle sweetness, and a slow-building heat in every bite — the kind of dish that proves low and slow on a pellet grill is more than cooking, it’s an experience.

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Recipe from @thebkydpalate

Learn more about the YS640S Outlander Series Pellet Grill

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 lbs ground beef (80/20)
  • 1 lb bacon
  • 4 tbsp BBQ rub
  • 2 (28 oz) cans baked beans
  • 2 cans Samuel Adams Non-Alcoholic Just the Haze IPA
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 red bell peppers, diced
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup chili powder
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 2 tbsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Season the ground beef with your favorite BBQ rub and form it into a loaf.
  2. In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon and set it aside.
  3. Using the bacon grease, sauté the onions and bell pepper until soft, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
  4. Add the diced tomatoes, baked beans, cooked bacon, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, Samuel Adams Non-Alcoholic Just the Haze IPA, salt, and pepper.
  5. Stir all ingredients and place in the smoker at 225°F.
  6. Place the ground beef on the warming rack above the chili so the fat renders into the pot, and smoke for about 4 hours.
  7. Stir the chili every hour and spritz the ground beef with beef broth.
  8. When the ground beef reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, shred it into the chili and serve.