Paleo Baconator Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Baaaaaacoooooooon!  All you need to know about this chili is it has bacon...oh, and it's delicious!  Yes, it's paleo, yes it has tons of protein, yes everyone will love it...and yes it has bacon!

Side note: the recipe won second place at the 4th Annual Findaway World Chili Cook Off.  That means it was the best of all the losers, which is a pretty awesome honor.  Enjoy!

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Author Ralph Lazaro ∙ Prep 30 mins ∙ Cook 2 hours ∙ Servings 8-10 

Ingredients

  • 1 - 12 oz. package thick cut bacon - approx. 10 slices

  • 2 lbs. grass-fed ground beef (or you can use bison)

  • 1 large yellow onion

  • 1 jalapeño (or another milder pepper for less heat)

  • 3 garlic cloves

  • 1 sweet potato

  • 18 oz jar crushed tomatoes

  • 18 oz jar diced tomatoes

  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder

  • 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder (for smokey flavor) or 1 tsp. Peruvian Chili Powder (for tangy flavor)

  • 1 Tbsp. cumin

  • 1 tsp. oregano

  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and cook over medium heat in a large dutch oven

  2. While bacon is cooking, dice the onion and jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat), mince the garlic and peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces

  3. Once bacon is browned, remove it from the dutch oven and set aside (discard the bacon grease). But do not clean out the dutch oven, you want a little of the grease still in the pot.

  4. Pour 2 TBSP of olive oil into the dutch over and add the onion and sauté for 4-5 mins, until it soft and translucent.

  5. Add the garlic and jalapeño (or other pepper of your choice) and sauté for 2-3 mins, then add spices and stir to combine. For the spices, we always used to use Chipotle Chili Powder as the smokiness works great with the bacon and sweet potatoes. But, have recently found Peruvian Chili Powder, which gives it an interesting tangy chili flavor. Try the both, not at the same time ;) and decide which you like.

  6. Turn up the heat to a bit over medium, add the beef (or bison) and cook until no longer pink.

  7. Add tomatoes, cubed sweet potatoes and one tomato jar full of water and stir.

  8. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1.5-2 hours, with the lid on and slightly cracked open (a Lazaro trick for any sauce or soup).

  9. Add salt to taste (some like more salty than others so add until flavor is how you want it). ENJOY!

Additional Notes

  • We eat bacon, a lot, but we do not just eat any bacon. We have met our bacon, played with them and seen what they eat! They roam free and eat what pigs are supposed to eat, they are happy and healthy! We support local farmers here in Ohio and we encourage you to do the same, wherever you live... know your food!

  • Speaking of bacon, if you want to cook a little extra bacon to crumble and put on top of your chili, that is smiled upon in this house. We also add fresh avocado sashimi (sashimi is fancy for slice it thin).