This simple-to-execute chili recipe featuring ground beef is a guaranteed home run for family and guests
This flavor-packed ground beef chili is adapted from a recipe by Lady Bird Johnson, found on a 3×5 inch card in the stacks of the LBJ Library in Austin, TX.


Pedernales River Chili Recipe
3.57 from 65 votes
Inspired by a favorite of Lady Bird Johnson, this chili recipe is simple to prepare but full of flavor.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ground beef
- 1 large onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chili powder (or less if you do not want as much heat)
- 2 cups hot water
- hot sauce
- Morton Coarse Kosher Salt
Method
Prevent your screen from going dark
- Prep. Chop the onion.
- Press the garlic with a garlic press or mince.
- Coarsely chop the tomatoes.
- Cook. Pre-heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat, chopped onion, and garlic. Cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the oregano, cumin, tomatoes, chili powder, and cups hot water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, skimming off the fat as it cooks. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.
- Serve. Serve immediately along with extra hot sauce and such condiments as grated cheese, sour cream, and sliced jalapeños.
Notes
About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.
Before you can post a comment or question you must sign into our commenting partner, Disqus. This helps make sure everyone hanging around the grill is civil. We do not tolerate nastiness, racism, porn, inappropriate language, or attacks on others. All comments are the property of AmazingRibs.com and we reserve the right to quote them, edit them, delete them, and block people from making future comments.
Please leave comments and questions on the same page that is devoted to that subject so others can see questions and our answers when they are reading about the subject. You must enable JavaScript to use the comments section, and you must accept cookies to post comments. Note: the software that runs Disqus is different from the Pitmaster Club, so members need to sign into the Pitmaster Club separately.
Moderators