Firehouse Chili Gumbo

Name: Firehouse Chili Gumbo
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed; 3 pounds ground beef, ideally coarse-ground; 1 tablespoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon ground white pepper; 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste; 2 tablespoons chile powder; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 3 tablespoons steak sauce; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced; 2 medium shallots, peeled and diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 1 yellow bell pepper, diced; 3 ribs celery, trimmed and diced; 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 2 6-ounce cans tomato paste; 2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce; 1 to 2 cups tomato juice; 1 cup ketchup; 1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar, or to taste; 2 tablespoons hot sauce, or to taste

Recipe from Jeremy Chauvin

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Firehouse Chili Gumbo — Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.

Total Time: 2 hours
Rating: 4(1,795)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe is adapted from the one that a Louisiana firefighter named Jeremy Chauvin entered into a national cook-off run by Hormel Foods in 2017, and that took home the prize for America’s Best Firehouse Chili. It is not really a chili in the Texas sense of the word. There is a roux at its base — it’s more like a chili gumbo, a bayou take on the original red. Serve with grated cheese and corn chips. Chauvin told me he was moved to enter the chili contest as a way to honor his brother Spencer, also a firefighter, who was killed in the line of duty in 2016. “I just want people to remember his sacrifice,” he said. —Sam Sifton

Featured in: This Is the Best Firehouse Chili

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

For the Chili

2tablespoons neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
3pounds ground beef, ideally coarse-ground
1tablespoon kosher salt
1teaspoon ground white pepper
1teaspoon ground black pepper
1teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
2tablespoons chile powder
1teaspoon ground turmeric
1teaspoon dried oregano
1teaspoon ground cumin
3tablespoons steak sauce
2tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
214.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes

For the Gumbo

2tablespoons unsalted butter
1tablespoon olive oil
2tablespoons all-purpose flour
1large yellow onion, peeled and diced
2medium shallots, peeled and diced
1green bell pepper, diced
1yellow bell pepper, diced
3ribs celery, trimmed and diced
3cloves garlic, peeled and minced
26-ounce cans tomato paste
28-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 to 2cups tomato juice
1cup ketchup
1tablespoon apple-cider vinegar, or to taste
2tablespoons hot sauce, or to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Make the chili. Heat the oil in a large skillet or heavy-bottomed pot set over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the beef, stirring often, until it has begun to brown at the edges. Using a slotted spoon, transfer browned meat to a bowl.
Step 2
Pour off excess fat, turn heat down to medium and return the browned beef to the skillet or pot. Add salt, peppers, chile powder, turmeric, oregano and cumin, and stir to combine. Add steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce and diced tomatoes, and stir again. Cover the skillet or pot, and cook, stirring a few times, for 15 minutes or so.
Step 3
Make the gumbo. Place a large pot with a heavy bottom over medium heat, and put the butter and oil into it. When the butter is melted and foaming, sprinkle the flour into the pan, and whisk to combine. Continue whisking until the mixture is golden brown, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Add the onion, shallots, bell peppers, celery and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have started to soften, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4
Make the chili gumbo. Add the beef mixture to the pot with the vegetables along with the tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomato juice and ketchup, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 45 minutes, then add apple-cider vinegar and hot sauce to taste. Take the pot off the heat, and serve, or allow to cool and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to cure. Heat before serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,795 user ratings

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Comments

Que7 years ago

Green onions are often called shallots in South Louisiana. From the Nola food blog: The nomenclature of green onions and shallots has always been confusing to outsiders reading New Orleans recipes. Although the practice seems to be waning in recent years, thousands of recipes still call for "shallots," which to the rest of the world means the mild French bulb that grows like oversized garlic. But in New Orleans, it means green onions, or scallions.

Joe7 years ago

Sounds good. A small quibble. . shallots are expensive and mixing in a couple of shallots will, I think, just get lost with the onions and peppers. You would never know they are there. All shallots? Not necessary and too precious for such a robust recipe. All onions will be fine.

Alan Crawford7 years ago

Very fitting this should appear today. This morning Spencer Chauvin was honored at the National Fallen Firefighters memorial service at Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Tomizuka08291 week ago

Delicious! I tossed in a serrano pepper for good measure, and used very spicy hot sauce. Super saucy, super spicy, super good!

TW1 month ago

Too sweet and too much tomato.

Lori2 months ago

This tastes sort of like spaghetti sauce, not like any chili or gumbo I've ever made or eaten before. It's all tomato. It was fine over rice for dinner, but I would not make this again.

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