Cooking Pot Roast Chili on the Wood Stove

Bear here...

Tis the season to use the wood burning stove and try something new with it.  Chili is also a good winter treat. Here is how I make my chili taste like it was done over a camp fire.

If you're cooking from scratch, soak 1 cup red beans & 1 cup black beans overnight. We like grains in our chili so I also soaked 1 cup of barley overnight with 2 Tblsp of cider vinegar in the water. Get a 3-5 lb chuck roast. Use whatever spices you want to season the chili. (It could be as simple as chili powder and onions.) I added salsa instead of tomatoes.

When you're ready to start the chili, cover the beans with 1 - 2 inches of water and bring them to a boil for 15 min. (This kills bacteria that could be on the beans. I recently read that in a book that teaches how to serve safe food.) Then cook covered for 1 hour to soften the beans.

Now the fun part. Cut your chuck roast into thick strips. Try to get as many strips as possible that will fit on your bed of coals. The more strips you have, the more area you'll have to absorb the grill flavor and smoke. Cut the meat, season with salt, then put in the refrigerator. The salt will pull moisture from the meat and give it a better chance to char. (The longer it's refrigerated the better. I put mine in the refrigerator before I put the beans on to boil.) Below left is what fit in my stove, below right shows it cooking on the coals.

Prior to cooking the meat, burn smaller wood to get more flames that will heat the fire box as much as possible. You want a bed of medium sized, orange coals. Sear the meat directly on the coals with the door mostly closed for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. The mostly closed door will keep the smoke in while drawing in extra air to keep heating the coals.

When done put the meat back in the pan and get all the coals & ash off of it. Trust me, you want ALL  the coals gone (below left). Then cut the meat into bite sized chunks (below right). It will smell like you are cutting a grilled steak. You'll want to sample like me, just don't eat too much. (I stopped at about 1/3 of a slab- no willpower here.)

Put the meat, onions, and seasoning of choice into your pot of beans and stir to combine. Make sure everything is covered with liquid, add water if you need to. Maintain the fire and cook the chili covered for at least 3 hours (stir every 1/2 hour until you are done, to keep things from burning on the bottom.) After 3 hours remove the lid, add a jar of salsa, stir, and cook until chili thickens. The fat from the roast will float to the top- you can scoop it out or stir it in- your choice. Mine wasn't thick yet and I forgot to take the done picture. Ooops...

The meat will be tender like pot roast and taste like steak. The best of both worlds.

​Type at ya later...