Okay WoW friends, who remembers this little gem of a recipe from Dustwallow Marsh?  It gave you the coolest buff in the game, “occasionally belch flame at enemies struck in melee for the next 10 min.” Packed full of meaty goodness with deep complex flavors and beer. Yes, beer! It hadn’t occurred to me to use beer in a chili (why not??) before, but it turned out wonderful!

“While this chili is unlikely to make you breathe flames, it lives up to its name in all other ways. Thick and flavorful, with just enough of a bite to satisfy, it’s a hearty dish popular with melee types who credit it with giving them a fighting edge before important battles. The original recipe comes from the swampland of Dustwallow Marsh in Kalimdor, but this version is a little different: No dragons were harmed in making it.” World of Warcraft official cookbook

We adapted this recipe by adding more spices, a little brown sugar, swapping the Italian sausage for chorizo and adding some frozen corn kernels for a sweet pop. We also did two different beans instead of only one – we used both pinto and black beans – and finished it with some scallions and cilantro and a nice piece of crusty bread.  Zug Zug!

Dragonbreath Chili Item Level 35 Reagents: Mystery Meat, Small Flame Sac

Use: Occasionally belch flame at enemies struck in melee for the next 10 min. Requires Level 35 Max Stack: 20 Sell Price: 3

 Recipe:

• 2 tbsp. veg. oil
• 1 chili pepper, minced (jalapeno or your choice, we used Jalapeno but you could actually do a habanero in here if you want some heat)
• 2 Thai chili peppers (I used Serranos instead)
• 1 red bell pepper or other sweet pepper
• 1 dried or canned chipotle pepper, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. sausage (we used Chorizo)
• 1 pound chuck steak or roast, cubed
• 2 tbsp. ground cumin
• 3 tbsp. good chili powder (like this )
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• one small can tomato paste
• One 12 oz. bottle of beer (what you like, not too light or hoppy)
• 2 cans of chili beans (pinto, black, kidney etc.)
• 2 c. beef stock/broth
• 2 cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• Salt to taste
• Sour cream, cheese, scallions and cilantro for garnishing
• Optional: masa harina for thickening like this or this found at grocery stores
• Optional: several dashes of hot sauce (like Cholula) if you want it spicy
• Optional: 1 c frozen corn kernels (Frozen fire roasted can be found at Trader Joe’s)
• Optional: 1/2 c fresh or frozen diced, roasted Hatch green chiles (you can buy these in a can or frozen at Trader Joe’s) because we live in Colorado and that’s how we do things. 🙂

1. Add the oil to a large stockpot over medium heat, or if you want to do this in the slowcooker, you can use a large skillet and then transfer. Add the peppers, onions and garlic until soft. Add the meats – ground beef, sausage, and chuck, stirring until all the meat is browned, 5 to 10 mins.
2. Add all the spices, followed by the tomato paste and stir. Pour in the beer, stock, beans and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Lower the heat or transfer to a slow cooker and cook for approximately 2 hours or in your slow cooker for 4. The chili should have thickened a little while cooking, but if it hasn’t, you can easily add some masa paste (masa harina and water) a tbsp. at a time until you get your consistency the way you like it.
3. Scoop into bowls and top with onions, cilantro, cheese and a small dollop of sour cream (especially if you went for the real spicy version!)