Beef and Beer Chili

Today's recipe is a special request for a reader who has previously sampled and enjoyed this chilli. It's a pretty basic chili recipe but is heavy on the beans and uses diced beef instead of ground beef which we've always liked better. We also like lots of cumin in our chilli and often add even more than this recipe calls for but you can adjust it to suit your taste.

Serves 8

2 pounds sirloin steak or roast, 2 cm diced
4 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 small red onion diced
6 oz beer
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
14 oz can tomato sauce
14 oz can kidney beans
14 oz can Romano beans
2 large tomatoes diced
1 large roasted red pepper, peeled and diced small
½ to 1 whole jalapeño pepper finely minced (optional)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
5 tbsp chilli powder
3 tbsp ground cumin
6 tbsp molasses

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Toss in diced beef and brown the meat for about 5 minutes. In the last couple of minutes browning add the minced garlic and diced onion.
Next add the beer and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the remainder of the ingredients except for the red peppers and fresh tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to minimum. Cover and slow simmer the chilli for 2 or more hours, stirring about every 20 minutes. Add the fresh diced tomatoes and roasted red pepper in the final 1/2 hour. Serve with grated cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips or crusty bread.