Tom’s Famous Chili is an award winning chili, which is rarely the same thing twice. Below you will see my general guidelines, but I rarely stick to them. Next time I am going to add some more beans, some more chili powder, some more rotel, and maybe even a little oregano. We typically make this every Halloween and then at least once a month until it is too hot outside to eat chili.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds tri-tip, cut into ¼ inch cubes
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 1 large white onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can beef broth
• 5 cans Rotel
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 cans kidney chili beans
• 2 cans black chili beans
  2 cans pinto chili beans
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 3 tablespoons Gebharts chili powder
• Juice from 1 lime
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon green Tabasco
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Masa Harina (or regular flour)

Directions

• Brown tri-tip in batches in vegetable oil, remove and set aside. Brown sausage in same pan, then add onions and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook a couple minutes. Add beef, broth, rotel, tomato puree, beans, cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion powders, Tabasco,  and lime juice. Cook a couple hours. After beef is tender, add brown sugar and Masa Harina, cook another hour. Enjoy.

Notes

• Serve with cheese, sour cream, and cornbread.
• This freezes well.
• Is often better the next day, whether frozen or just stuck in the fridge.
• I often start this in the morning to have it ready for dinner and left overs for a couple weeks.