Monday, March 02, 2026

Over the Top Chili with Corn Bread

You may remember that on Super Bowl Sunday I made Over the Top Chili and Poppers.

As I mentioned, I was the only one who actually had more than just a taste, and I enjoyed it enough that I really thought I should make it again so others in my family can give it a try.

I think this is now my favorite way to make chili.

I got out the Dutch Oven on Tuesday and made it again.

For a side, I also made corn bread.

This time, the meat I picked for the chili was a combination of ground chorizo and some ground beef I had left over from burgers I made over the weekend.


As a reminder, "Over-the-Top" refers to cooking the ground meat slowly over the pot containing the rest of the chili ingredients.

When I first started seeing "Over-the-Top" as a thing, I was a little worried that this would result in a greasy mess, but it really doesn't


For me, the ingredients this time were:
  • 15 oz can of kidney beans
  • 30 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 2 4 oz cans of diced green chilis
  • 2 medium sized chopped onions (actually, I added these after the meat)
  • Various spices 


I also prepared 2 cups of beef broth (3 beef bouillon cubes) to add later in the cooking process as the chili thickened.

After about an hour and a half, the ball of meat was cooked, so I placed it in the chili and chopped it up. This is when I added the onions as well.


In the meantime, I got the Corn Bread battery ready:
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk 
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅓ cup melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
  • 4 tablespoons Honey


Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients. Combine.

I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees with my cast-iron pan inside. When it was time to start cooking the corn bread, I poured combined ingredients into pre-heated cast iron pan.

I cooked about 18 minutes. The last 2 minutes I had the broiler on to get some color on the top of the bread.


The chili cooked a total of about 3 hours. Most of the time it was pretty close to 250 degrees, which was a little cooler than the first time I did this "Over-the-Top" chili.

I used about half the beef broth to thin out the chili. 


Both the corn bread and the chili turned out great. I think the chili was better this time than last.

It might be the best corn bread I've ever made. 



I'm quite certain I'm going to make both these dishes again. I have been thinking of other dishes and meats that I might use the "Over-the-Top" concept with. Stay tuned, and you might find out how those go.


As always keep watching the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with my BBQ, Beer, Biking: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.Of course, don't forget to visit this blog often as well!

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