How To Make Heather’s Chili by Andrew Murtha — Recipe

Ground beef is glorious and one of the best things about it is how versatile it can be as an ingredeient. We love our Burgers, of course, but there’s something to be said about the multitude of dishes you can make with ground beef to feed your friends, family, customers, and—maybe most importantly—your own face.

We recently reached out to our dearest friends in the restaurant business to see how they cooked up ground beef recipes, but not Burgers—and boy, did they deliver. Thus was born the This Is Not A Hamburger Cookbook, 76 pages of mouthwatering, beefy goodness from the most brilliant minds in the biz right now.

Once such brilliant mind is that of Chef Andrew Murtha of JuiCy Burger Bar in Hamburg, NY, who recently also shared the secrets of his delectable JuiCy Burger. Interestingly, this particular recipe comes not from Murtha himself, but his wife, who whips up this killer chili during football season to please the masses. “We serve it at the restaurant, and all winter long, she keeps it in the freezer for me,” Murtha says. “It’s one of those comfort foods I really look forward to.”

And now you can look forward to it too. Enjoy!

Heather’s Chili by Andrew Murtha

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Ground Beef, Schweid & Sons Butcher’s Blend
• 2 pounds Ground Pork
• 2 tablespoons Garlic
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 4 cup Crushed Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup Tomato Paste
• 4 cup Kidney Beans, rinsed
• 1 Onion, pureed
• 1 Stalk Celery, pureed
• 3 Carrots, pureed
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 4 Dried Chiles Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Heat a large stockpot, season the meat with salt and pepper and brown the beef and pork. Skim any fat that collects on the surface.
2. Add the garlic, bay, dried peppers, and chili powder and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, paste, and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the pureed vegetables, and sugar, and cook for 1 hour.
5. Taste for salt and pepper.

About Andrew Murtha

A country boy at heart, Boston Hills native Andrew Murtha began his career as a dishwasher in his hometown. Throughout his career working the Buffalo and Philadelphia restaurant scenes, he found his passion for food working long hours on the line.

In his new role as Chef/Owner at JuiCy, he aims to perfect the burger by using the highest quality ingredients and recipes.

“We just want to do things the right way from start to finish. I don’t want to re-invent the wheel, I want to build the perfect wheel.”