Cooks Illustrated Favorite Chili Not My Favorite

Since I had a lot of time on my hands this New Years Day, I decided to try an extremely complicated chili recipe from Cooks Illustrated.  In typical CI style, the steps were long and many.  I started off toasting some arbo chilies, then added them to various spices and cocoa powder (!) in the food processor.  Adding chicken stock while the food processor was running made everything come together into a paste. 

Next, I pulsed the onions and jalapenos into a chunky pieces and then dumped them into the dutch oven to soften.  

When they were ready, I added garlic and then mixed in the paste along with some diced tomatoes.  The chili started to take shape when I added more chicken stock and some pre-soaked pinto beans.  

As this mixture simmered, I browned cut up pieces of beef (thanks, Nick!!).  

The recipe called for the browning pan to be deglazed with a lager.  We had Modela in the garage, so I used that.  What seemed like an eternity after I started the chili, I brought everything to a simmer and put it in the oven to simmer for a couple hours.  When Nick's delicious cornbread was done, we took out the chili and had a wonderful meal!  

While the chili's deep color and smoky flavor were extremely appealing, I thought it wasn't worth all the labor intensive preparation.  Next time, I think I'll skip making my own chili paste and save time by using a powder, such as Chili 3000 from Penzey's.