If you live on the Central Coast, as we do, you may sometimes find yourself with leftovers from a Santa Maria style barbecue. Maybe you only barbecue for a crowd, or maybe you have a small family like we do, but sometimes there is leftover Tri Tip, and that can be the start of many new meals.
We recently did some grilling on a weekend, and we were planning ahead for leftovers. We did a Tri Tip with Santa Maria Style Seasoning, and chicken legs and thighs with Strawberry Barbecue Sauce. By the way, that recipe for Strawberry Barbecue Sauce tastes delicious, and it is a great way to use up strawberries when you buy too many.
We knew that we'd have a lot of Tri Tip left over after we had it for Sunday dinner, so I decided to make what I call a "weeknight chili". This is the kind of chili that you can make on a weeknight, rather than the kind that is more of a weekend project, with all due ceremony of the chili aficionado. Yes, it does have beans, but it also has tomatoes, which sometimes are not included in the serious chili recipes. It is spicy enough that you may want to have some kind of accompanying starch such as rice. Back when we lived in Virginia, we'd sometimes make spoonbread to go with chili, and if you've never tried that combination, I'd recommend it.
BBQ Tri Trip Chili (version 1 - we'll be trying others)
Ingredients:
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Santa Maria Style Seasoning (see link above)
1 lb. cooked Tri Tip, cut into small dice
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
2 tbs. chile powder, medium hot
1 tbs. ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1 28-oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. minced dried garlic
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 14-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
Dash of grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
- In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the Tri Tip and the Santa Maria Style Seasoning. Add the roasted red pepper, chile powder, ancho chile, and cracked pepper. Reduce heat to medium.
- Add the red wine and the tomatoes. At this point, you'll need to simmer, stirring periodically, for about 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. This is a good time to prepare your accompanying starch (rice, spoon bread, pasta, etc.), and get toppings ready such as grated cheese or chopped onions.
- After the chili has simmered for about 20-30 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings. When we made this recipe, we added the sugar, minced garlicand seasoned salt at this point.
- Add the black beans, and let cook for about 5 minutes to get the beans warmed through. Add the nutmeg and tarragon, and do a final check for seasoning.
