I’m finally getting around to sharing my recipe for chili with meat. It’s a busy time of year and every nook and cranny of time filled in with stuff to do, but this recipe is definitely worth doing!
First let me say that every canning recipe I share has been cross referenced with trusted canning authorities books and university websites. Follow the directions and they’ll be safe.
My favorite “go-to” books are the trusted “Ball Blue Books” and this book, which is where I found the basic chili recipe.
I often say that “a recipe is merely a suggestion” but when it comes to canning, I’m much more careful.
The chili recipe in the book says to brown your ground beef in the stockpot where you’re going to cook the chili and then drain the grease off, but I brown my meat separately. So – start with 5 lb ground beef (chuck or round – or even turkey) and cook thoroughly.
When the meat is done, drain the grease off.
(I doubled the recipe and browned about 10 lb of ground chuck.)
While the meat is cooking begin to cook onions, celery, garlic, sweet peppers, and jalapeno peppers in a small amount of olive oil. The amounts depend on whether you like your chili hot or mild.
Next add either canned tomatoes or fresh peeled tomatoes to pot (approx 2 qts-worth of tomatoes per “recipe”).
Add spices to taste – approx 1/4 cup chili powder, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp salt, cayenne powder or hot pepper flakes. Cook until tomatoes are well done, then add meat.
The recipe call for cooking 20 minutes, but I simmer mine at least a couple of hours or longer if I have time.
Fill hot jars with chili, leaving 1″ headspace. Wipe rims with a papertowel dampened with white vinegar. Seal and process 90 minutes @11lb pressure (or the correct pressure for your altitude). Follow all basic canning directions for details.
I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but took this picture which included my next project – peaches!
My “double recipe” of chili yielded 13 quarts and 1 pint and a half jar (might have had a full quart if I hadn’t “taste-tested” quite so much! ☺)
This can be used “as-is” or add beans. It is a super-quick and delicious meal anytime you want chili. (It’s extra good with my home-made hot tamales. I’ll add directions for those soon).
If you have questions, please let me know.
Newman Valley 
If I double the meat to 10 lbs and the tomatoes to 4 qts, do i double the spices as well.
Linda, sorry for the delay in replying. I don’t think I would just double without tasting – the spices aren’t critical to the canning process – so add them to taste. Of course, you can always add more when you’re heating the chili to use as well.