Smoked OTT Chili, Ray's Way

Meat

• • 1 lb ground bison
• • 1 lb 81/19 ground beef
• • 1½ lbs 73/27 ground beef
• •Smokin' Ray's Magic Cow Dust, applied generously

Vegetables

• • Tomatoes
• • Onion
• • Green bell pepper
• • Jalapeño
• •Smokin' Ray's Original All-Purpose, to season

Vegetable amounts aren't measured — Ray cooks these by eye.

Beans and Liquid

• • 1 (27 oz) can chili beans
• • 1 (14.5 oz) can kidney beans
• • 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• • 2 cups beef broth

Chili Seasoning

• • 2 Tbsp chili powder
• • 1½ tsp paprika
• • 1½ tsp cumin
• • 1 tsp onion powder
• • ½ tsp garlic powder
• • ½ tsp cayenne
• • 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
• • 1 tsp black pepper
• • 1 tsp white pepper
• • 1 Tbsp tomato powder
• • 1 tsp oregano
• • ¼ cup light brown sugar

1. Preheat the smoker to 225–250°F. Form the beef and bison into large patties and season generously with Smokin' Ray's Magic Cow Dust.
2. Roughly cut the tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, and jalapeño. Season with Smokin' Ray's Original All-Purpose and place in a heat-safe catch pan, such as cast iron, directly beneath the meat.
3. Place the patties on the smoker rack above the vegetables. Smoke for approximately 1½ hours. The vegetables take on smoke while catching the meat drippings. This smoking stage is followed immediately by stovetop cooking; it is not the final doneness step.
4. Transfer the smoky liquid and meat drippings from the catch pan into the Crock-Pot.
5. Finely dice the smoked vegetables. Return them to the cast-iron skillet and cook until completely soft, then add to the Crock-Pot.
6. In the same skillet, chop the smoked meat into chili-sized pieces and finish cooking thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to confirm the ground beef and bison reach 160°F. Add the cooked meat to the Crock-Pot.
7. Add the chili beans, kidney beans, tomato sauce, beef broth, and all listed chili seasonings. Stir thoroughly.
8. Finish for approximately 1 hour on HIGH or a couple of hours on LOW, stirring occasionally, until hot throughout and the flavors have blended. The meat is fully cooked before this stage.

Ray's Notes

• • Other ground game, such as elk, can replace the bison. Ray recommends keeping the 73/27 ground beef for the flavorful drippings.
• • Smokin' Ray's Original All-Purpose can substitute for Smokin' Ray's Magic Cow Dust on the meat.
• • “We're not asking the Crock-Pot to cook dinner. We're just putting everybody in there to get to know one another.”
• • Finely dice the vegetables: “I don't like giant chunks of vegetables hiding in my chili waiting to ambush me.”