Cornbread is one of my favorite things to make along side my chili. Sometimes I go the biscuit route (maybe a chipotle sweet potato biscuit? YUM!), but 90% of the time I go with cornbread. Now put the cornbread directly on top of the chili and bake it in a cast iron skillet- I am totally there. So when I came upon this recipe in a magazine I had high hopes. As I started putting the whole thing together my hopes quickly died. Just died. I could tell immediately that this recipe was NOT going to turn out well. Does that ever happen to you? Start to make something and then realize- “Wow, this is not going to work!”? Ugh, I’m sure you know what I mean. It’s pretty disappointing.
Where to start with what went wrong… I suppose I should mention that the original recipe was supposed to be a healthy turkey chili with sweet potato chunks, corn, black beans, and fire roasted tomatoes. Doesn’t sound too bad right? That’s what I thought, but UGH was it disgusting… Not only was the seasoning sparse, but it was brothy rather than thick and saucy. Plus, I didn’t help matters any by preparing my sweet potatoes improperly. I tried to be efficient by shredding my sweet potato and sautéing it with the onions, then allowing it to finish cooking all together in the oven. FIRST of all, have you ever tried grating a sweet potato? Not as easy and quick as you would think. It definitely took way longer than chunking it. I didn’t want to take the time to do that and then steam it, but in the end I should have. The shredded sweet potato somehow did NOT cook through. It was left semi-crunchy and the texture of shredded carrot. So my gross tasting chili with a terrible consistency also had an awful texture. Total bomb.
You’re probably wondering why in the world, if this was SO bad, would I be sharing this recipe with you …. Well! I’m not : ) I wouldn’t do that to you. But I liked the idea behind this dish so much that I put together an alternative recipe using my Turkey Chili and a dependable cornbread recipe. Of course, you can use a box of cornbread mix if you would like to make this but want to simplify it down. I just like making as much as I can from scratch. I grew up on Jiffy Cornbread though, so I’m no snob. AND if you don’t want to make the dish without the cornbread on top, no problem! Bake it separately- simple solution.
- Turkey Chili:
- 1½ Tb olive oil
- 1 med spanish onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1½ Tb chili powder
- ½ Tb garlic powder
- ½ Tb dried oregano
- ½ Tb cumin
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 shakes tabasco sauce
- 1 Tb tomato paste
- ½ Tb chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups (15 oz can) cooked kidney beans in liquid
- 1¼ Tb salt
- ¼ Tb pepper
- Cornbread:
- 1 cup (5 oz) stone ground cornmeal
- 1 cup (5 oz) flour
- 4 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 2 Tb unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Turkey Chili: In a large dutch oven (or stockpot) over medium high heat warm the olive oil and cook the vegetables and garlic in oil until tender. Don’t be afraid to caramelize the vegetables a little bit. Add the turkey to the mixture, breaking up the ground meat with a spoon. until the turkey is cooked and colors slightly.
- Add the herbs and spices, Tabasco and tomato paste to the mixture and stir until combined. Stir the peppers in adobo sauce into the crushed tomatoes and add both to pot. Pour in chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the kidney beans and their liquid to the stew and cook for 5 minutes or until the beans are warmed through. (If you want a less soupy chili just cook it down until it’s reached your desired consistency). Season with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves and serve warm with your choice of garnish.
- For the Cornbread: In a large bowl, stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make well in the center.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until almost combined. Add the butter and stir unti completely combined.
- To assemble: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If using a dutch oven- freely dollop cornbread across top of chili and bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. If using stock pot- transfer chili to one or two (depending how big they are) open-faced skillets or casserole dishes. THEN freely dollop cornbread across top of chili and bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
