Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we give our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems.)
Slow cookers are bulky, unattractive in their signature oval way and require a lot of thinking ahead to use. They are the antithesis of quick and easy fast food.
So why am I seeing so many of them recently at house parties?
I’m a middle-of-the-road millennial with aging millennial friends. Birthday parties and holiday gatherings now come with babies, sober friends and the paternal instinct to grow a mustache. I don’t know how many of us can handle the slog of a night on the town or the shock of a loud “SURPRISE!” coming from the shadows. That might make our hearts palpitate.
Slow cookers can give the host more time with guests -- and that's the whole point, isn't it? (Getty Images)
Enter the slow cooker. At the last two house parties I’ve attended, both this winter in Denver, slow cookers filled with simmering bean soups and chilis have stolen the show from the respective birthday boy. They lined the kitchen islands or rested on top of furniture next to Dixie-brand paper bowls, plastic spoons and an assortment of toppings. There was still a cooler full of ice and beer and seltzers on the floor. It just didn’t get the love the slow cookers did.
The slow cookers offered warmth and nourishment. They gave us a chance to sit down and catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in months, maybe a year, whose babies had grown older. They allowed us all to engage in very simple, quiet communal bonding that I hadn’t felt in a long time, not since living in Minneapolis.
A colleague and senior reporter at the local paper there would invite us to his house to watch the Super Bowl and other Minnesota sporting events. He’d make chili parties, featuring his own meat and vegetarian concoctions, and invite guests to bring their own slow cookers, too. I’d plop sour cream and shredded cheddar on top of serving and roam the room. At one of these watch parties in October 2017, the Twins lost to the Yankees in a wild-card game.
Winter lasts a dastardly long time in Minnesota. The snow accumulates into blocks of ice that turn grey from trash and passing car fumes. When the home team loses, the cold snaps extra hard. It seemed then that the slow cooker and its contents were the hearty consolation prize, and in the end all that was needed.
Later this month, I’ll be attending a “Souper Bowl” party. The host is asking guests to bring our best soup to compete for the “Golden Ladle.”
In fact, Super Bowls are terrific opportunities to break out the slow cooker. (Just remember to properly store the finished dish: My last attempt at making something in a slow cooker — a chili that took about six hours to prepare — mostly ended up in the trash when I left it out overnight.)
This year — especially since the Broncos aren’t in it — don’t make it just about the game. Make it about the food and the people you’re bringing together.
Here’s a bacon-rich chili that can be made on a stovetop or in a slow cooker. My friend David Burchfield adapted it for his birthday party earlier this year. It comes from Gimme Some Oven, a website and blog run by Ali Martin (@gimmesomeoven on Instagram).
Ultimate Chili
Serves 6-8. Source: Gimme Some Oven (gimmesomoven.com), by Ali Martin.
INGREDIENTS
5 ounces diced pancetta (or 5 slices of diced thick-cut bacon)
1 3/4 pounds ground beef
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
1 medium red bell pepper, cored and diced
1 jalapeño, cored and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 bottle (1 1/2 cups) beer
1 1/2 cups beef stock
2 15-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with their juices
2 15-ounce cans beans of your choice, rinsed and drained
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, diced (plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Toppings: diced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, diced green or red onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, and/or crumbled corn tortilla chips
DIRECTIONS
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta (or bacon) and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ground beef and sauté until browned and cooked through, stirring and crumbling with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked meat to a clean plate and set it aside, reserving 1 tablespoon of grease in the pot. (If there is more grease in the pot, discard it.)
- Add the onion, red pepper and jalapeño to the stockpot and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the beer to the stockpot, and use a wooden spoon to gently scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the cooked beef and pancetta (or bacon), beef stock, tomatoes, beans, green chiles, chipotle chili in adobo, chili powder, smoked paprika and cumin, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the chili reaches a simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and continue to simmer the chili for 20 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. (Feel free to also add in extra chili powder or cumin, if you think it is needed.)
- Serve immediately, piled high with all of your favorite toppings.
Alternately: Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Finish with steps 5 and 6. Or, complete Step 1 (and 2, optionally) on the stovetop. Add those sautéed ingredients to the slow cooker, as well as all the other ingredients. Cook as directed above.
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