Category: Soups

White Chicken Chili

I was introduced to white chicken chili by our daughter-in-law at a wonderful little restaurant called Le The in Hudson, Wisconsin.  Le The has closed its doors, but I will never forget their outstanding service and food.

When I told my wife about the chili, she said “That sounds good,” and so I began experimenting with various recipes until I came up with the following.  It makes 12 to 14 generous servings, but leftovers can be warmed and served a day later or frozen and brought out in a few weeks for a simple lunch or dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups (1 lb.) dried navy or great northern beans
1 large onion (3 1/2 to 4” in diameter)
1 stick (1/4 lb.) + 2 T butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth (I use two 14 1/2 ounce cans + 1/2 cup water)
2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp. Tabasco or other hot sauce
1 T  chili powder
1 heaping tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 – 3/4 tsp. white pepper
2 four ounce cans diced green chilies
1/2 small jalapeño pepper or 1/4 small habanero pepper (optional)
5 or 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 – 3 lbs.)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/16 tsp. dried tarragon (a large pinch)
1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup sour cream

PROCEDURE:

Rinse and pick over the beans in a colander and place in a large bowl or kettle.  Cover with cold water to about 2 inches above beans and soak overnight.  Drain beans and place in a 6 to 8 quart kettle covered by about 2 inches with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 60 to 70 minutes until tender but not mushy.  Drain in a colander and discard the water.

Place the chicken breasts in a saucepan.  Barely cover them with water, and add the bouillon cube and tarragon.   Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the breasts slowly about 9 minutes.  Turn off the heat and allow the breasts to finish poaching for another 8 or 9 minutes.  Remove them from the liquid, let them cool on a platter and cut them into 1/2” cubes.  Save the poaching liquid to thin the chili if necessary.

While the chicken is cooking, remove the dry husk of the onion and chop it finely.  Melt 2 T butter in an 8 or 10 inch skillet and cook onion over low heat until translucent but not browned.

If you decide to include the fresh pepper, discard the seeds and stem from the jalapeño or habanero and chop very it finely.  Be sure to wear gloves when chopping hot peppers.

In a 6 to 8 quart kettle, melt the stick of butter over low to moderate heat and stir in the flour.  Stir constantly for 3 or 4 minutes using a wooden spoon or whisk to make a smooth roux.  Do not brown.  Stir in the cooked onions, then gradually the chicken broth and finally the half-and-half.  Stir or whisk constantly while bringing to a boil.

Reduce the heat and cook 5 minutes, stirring about once a minute.  Keep the heat as low as possible to avoid scorching the roux.  Add the Tabasco or hot sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, white pepper, diced chilies and the optional chopped jalapeño or habanero pepper.  Stir well and remove the mixture from heat.

Put the drained beans in a 10 – 12 quart kettle.  Stir in the mixture and the chicken and bring just to simmer, stirring often to avoid scorching the chili.  Add some of the reserved poaching liquid to thin the mixture if it is too thick.

Grate the cheese and stir it into the mixture.  Simmer for 20 minutes and stir in the sour cream. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.   If it seems too spicy, you can add a bit more shredded cheese or sour cream.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a sprig of cilantro or parsley.  Serve with a green salad and corn bread.

Better Than Mom’s Venison Chili

My grandparents did not hunt or fish, so I sometimes wonder how my parents came to do both.  Actually, my mother was not a hunter, but she could outlast all of us when the fish were biting.

She caught the largest bullhead I have ever seen one evening when the mosquitoes had driven the rest of us into the car.  Dad rolled down the window a little and called her once or twice, but she kept saying that she wanted to catch “just one more good one.”

All of a sudden we heard a shout. Dad jumped out of the car and disappeared in the dusk.  A couple of minutes later they came walking up from the dock, Dad carrying the fish pail and worm can and Mom with her rod and a huge bullhead.  She had called for help because it felt like a monster to her.  She was so excited that she started cranking the reel backwards, but somehow she managed to beach the fish.

That weekend I saw something that amazed me.  After spending most of the afternoon trying to untangle the backlash on Mom’s reel, Dad cut the almost-new line off the reel.  And he was a man who saved bent nails and taught me how to straighten them too.

So Mom got a new casting line and we had pieces of Mom’s giant bullhead to go with the bluegills.

Mom did not hunt, but she cooked lots of grouse and venison.  Like most people who have venison in the freezer, she used some of it in chili.  I hate to say it, but it was like most of the northern Wisconsin chili I have eaten:  Tomato soup, onions, chili powder and kidney beans with hamburger or ground venison.  Sometimes she even tossed in some chopped celery.

It’s okay, but here’s how to make a chili that is a lot better than Mom’s.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds venison (elk or deer)
1/2 pound pork sausage
2 T  vegetable oil
1 large onion (about 4 inches in diameter)
6 cloves garlic
2  14.5 ounce cans beef broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
3 cups chopped fresh, frozen or canned tomatoes
1 small (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 green bell pepper
3 jalapeño peppers
1 habanero pepper
1 T chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 T brown sugar
1 T flour mixed with 2 T water
Salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

Slice the elk or venison into thin pieces about an inch long.  In a large Dutch oven or heavy kettle heat about two tablespoons oil and brown the meat. Season the meat with a half teaspoon salt and a quarter teaspoon black pepper. Peel and chop the onion and garlic.  Add the onion, garlic, beef broth, water, wine, tomato paste and tomatoes, breaking them apart. Simmer for forty-five minutes to an hour. 

Wash and cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds and white membrane. Dice the habanero and jalapeño peppers fine and the green pepper medium and add them to the chili. Stir in the chili powder, cumin and sugar. Simmer for about an hour.  Mix the flour with the water and stir it into the chili.  Cook for three or four minutes, then taste and adjust the spices.

Serve with buttermilk cornbread, butter and honey or jam and shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream that guests can add if they wish.

OPTIONS:  If you like your chili hotter, add some cayenne pepper or one or two more diced peppers. You can replace  the habanero pepper with a teaspoon of hot sauce.

NOTES:  You can substitute beef for the venison or use hamburger if you don’t want to slice the meat, but it really is better sliced  Be sure to wear gloves when working with hot peppers.