Slow cooker chili (made with dried chili peppers and chipotles)

Dried chili peppers are central to this easy slow cooker chili recipe. Enjoy experimenting with available chili pepper varieties!

Serves 4, 35 minutes prep time and 4 hours cook time.

For me, chili is an all-season food. 

It’s a main meal, a side and a condiment:  ladled into bowls on a wintry day; slathered onto buns with some coal-fired burgers at a barbeque over summer; or soaking up corn bread in the fall. Chili takes minimal preparation, requires even less oversight and can be made in huge batches that re-heat easily. 

The star of this recipe is the mix of dried whole chili peppers, which add complexity, smoke and spiciness to the chili.  By making your own chili paste and using whole chili peppers, you can control the spiciness and create a blend that is uniquely yours.  If you haven’t tried this before, the procedure is easy and all you really need is some heat, a blender, rubber gloves and some soaking time.  I promise you: you won’t go back to the store-bought powdered chili mixes.   

The mix I used here resulted in a chili that I’d consider “medium” in spiciness:  I’d be craving a pilsner and dabbing sweat off my brow if I’m eating a bowl of it on its own; but it adds a nice amount of zing on top of fries.   

The dried chili peppers I used: 

Anchos:  dried poblano peppers.  Mild and sweet, a little raisiny, they add the “pepper” flavour without the heat. 

Pasillas:  rich and sharp, they also add the “pepper” flavour without the heat. 

Guajillos: warm and spicy, they are typically used in salsas, adobos and mole sauces. Use less if you want a milder chili. 

Chipotles:  these are jalapeños that have been smoked and dried.  They add that fireside smokiness to dishes and critical to this chili recipe.  If they are not readily available, look for canned chipotles in adobo instead – add them directly into the slow cooker without toasting.  Spicy. 

Chiles de árbol:  small and very spicy, with a balanced flavour.  Use sparingly at first, and then adjust.  Omit this chili pepper if you want a milder chili. 

Depending on availability, you’ll likely encounter different dried chili peppers than what I have here.  That’s awesome.  Do your research on the Scoville Heat Levels of each species before you decide on how many to go with.  The recipe will recommend that you blend your chilis into your sauce in stages to give you a chance to taste it and adjust.   

With the chili peppers imparting so much flavour this dish, the recipe doesn’t require much of the other spices and herbs.  

How to prep dried chili peppers

First of all:  don’t be a hero.  Wear rubber gloves when you handle the soaked chili peppers, and don’t take them off until you’ve washed your cutting board, knives and blender.  The gloves keep your fingers from picking up the capsaicin (the active component that makes peppers spicy) and transferring it into your eyes, causing them to sting and water. 

Heat up 1 ½ cups of water to boiling and have it ready. 

Most non-stick skillets recommend that you don’t heat them up while they’re dry, so I prefer using a stainless steel skillet for this recipe.  The skillet should allow for you to lay all your chili peppers onto it without layering. 

Heat the skillet on medium high.  Lay the chili peppers on the skillet. It’s fine if they’re folded and wonky, do the best you can.  When the peppers start to heat, they’ll become more pliable and you can unfold them more.  The peppers will deepen in colour as they cook, and you’ll start to smell a warm, sweet aroma.  The thin-skinned chiles (like the chiles de árbol and the guajillos) will toast up first.  Usually the dried chiplotles and the achos take the longest to soften.  Flip them when they toast. When all sides are toasted, remove them and place them in a medium bowl.  Gently pour the boiling water over top of the toasted chili peppers to submerge them. 

Cover the bowl with a plate and allow chili peppers to soak for at least 20 minutes.  All chili peppers should be soft and pliable when they’re ready to be handled. 

Have a cutting board and a knife ready.  Wear your gloves.  Lift a soaked chili pepper out of the water and let it drain.  Place it on your cutting board.  If there is a stem, pull it off the pepper (it should easily come off at this point).  The fibrous insides and some of the seeds will likely come out with the stem.  Discard the stem. 

With your knife, cut the chili pepper down its length, open up each side and scrape out all the seeds from the inside to discard.  Chop up the chili pepper and place aside in a pile.  Complete the rest of the chili peppers, making sure to create separate piles for the milder chilis, the chipotle and the spicy chilis.  You will be incorporating the chilis into the sauce in stages so that you can control the flavour.