Ingredients: (serves 1)

• Olive Oil (at least 1 tbsp)

• 1/4 pound ground beef

• 3 strips of black treacle smoked streaky bacon, chopped

• 1/2 small/medium onion, diced

• 1/3 green bell pepper, diced

• 1/3 red bell pepper, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 small tomato, diced

• 150 ml red kidney beans in chili sauce

• 150 ml diced tomatoes or tomato sauce. I prefer using canned fire roasted diced tomatoes if I can find them.

• 1 small cube of 90% cacao dark chocolate (optional)

  Spices

• 1 tsp Chili Powder

• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder

• 1/4 tsp cumin

• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp onion powder

• 1/4 tsp brown sugar

• salt and papper to taste

  Optional toppings

• cheddar of your choice for topping

• sour cream

• Jalapeño pepper, sliced for extra heat

• hot sauce, I prefer cholula

Kit Needed:

1 pot (at least 750 ml with a lid), gas stove or some kind of camp oven, spatula or spoon

Packing Tips:

Bag and freeze the ground beef the night before you leave. The beef will then thaw throughout your hike. I also place the beans, diced tomato or sauce, cheese and sour cream in separate sealed containers. All the spices will be measured, mixed and all be added together in a small container or sandwich bag. All the ingredients then go into a large ziplock bag when I leave the house (this does get reused often if it is not used as a garbage bag)

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in your pot on medium high heat. Once heated add the chopped bacon and cook till crispy. Mix frequently to prevent burning and lower the heat if necessary..

2. While the bacon is cooking dice your peppers, onion and garlic.

3. Once the bacon is nice and crispy remove it from your pot but make sure you leave all the bacon grease in the pot! Using a paper towel remove any excess grease from your crispy bacon and set it aside. This will be added back to the chili later.

4. Now add your peppers, onion and garlic to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook until the peppers become tender and the onions begin to become translucent. This can take up to 5 min. Just make sure you do not overcook and burn the garlic.

5. Now add your ground beef to the pot, stir to combine. Cook mixing occasionally until all the beef has browned.

6. While the beef is browning dice a small tomato.

7. Once browned add your diced tomato to the pot, stir to combine. Once mixed, now add the kidney beans, the canned diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and your spices. Stir to combine. Now add a single square of 90% cacao dark chocolate. Adding dark chocolate to the chili helps deepen the flavor by adding a richness and helps balance the acidity. It also helps enhance the savory flavor of the spices creating a more complex rounded taste without making the dish taste too sweet. Finally add 3/4 of the bacon back to the pot and stir to combine. Save the remaining crispy bacon to be chopped and added to the top of your chili at the end as a garnish.

   (The order in which you add all these ingredients during this step really doesn't matter, just make sure everything is combined before you allow the chili continue cooking)

8. Now we wait. Cover the chili and cook at a low simmer for at least an hour.

9. After an hour remove your chili from the heat and add your toppings. This is optional but HIGHLY recommended. I prefer to top my chili with cheddar cheese, sour cream, some jalapeño slices, the remaining crispy bacon and some hot sauce. Enjoy!