OTT Chilli

OTT Chilli aka Over the Top chilli has been a ‘thing’ across the BBQ community including Big Green Egg and other Kamado owners for a number of years now and controversially we’ve never tried it until now. For OTT chilli receipes, you form the mince into a ball and smoke it on a rack above the sauce and then the ball is broken up and mixed into the sauce.

We’ve always preferred to fry off the minced beef in a dutch oven until it starts to crackle and the Maillard reaction works its magic and then smoke on the Egg to develop a deep rich smoky flavour. Allowing the chilli to gently cook for several hours, discovering that it also tastes even better when you eat it the next day.

So, we’ve done a side by side comparison and the verdict is…..a unanimous 👍 👍 👍 The Meat Smoke Fire Team prefferred the OTT recipe. Who knew but you’ll never know until you give it a go.

Cooking surfaces

then add

BBQ Temperature

then

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 chopped onions
2 diced red peppers
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 cans plum tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans (undrained – the liquid has lots of flavour)
100ml Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp coarse ground pepper
2 tsp Maldon sea salt
1kg beef mince
1 tbsp BBQ rub, we used Angus & Oink Moo Mami
30ml Hot Chipotle Sauce (optional)
3 to 5 chunks of Hickory wood for smoking (yes this is an ingredient even if it doesn’t go in the pan)

Method

Set up your EGG for direct cooking with the Dutch Oven on the Stainless Steel Grid directly over the coals. Get the temperature up to around 200°C.
Add the chopped onion, garlic and peppers and sweat down – you will need to open the EGG every couple of minutes to stir.
Add the spices, tomatoes, tomato puree, beans, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Combine them together and give a good stir. You do not need the lid for the Dutch Oven, but do cook with the EGG lid down.
Now, to prepare the mince, put it in a bowl and add the rub. Use your hands to give the mince a good squeeze to work the rub through the mince.
Bring the mince together and form a ball shape.
Take out the Dutch Oven from the Egg, remove the Stainless Steel Grid, and add your Hickory chunks to the charcoal (I don’t bother soaking them). Add the ConvEGGtor (feet up) and Stainless Steel Grid ready for an indirect cook.
Set your Egg to 130°C.
Place the Dutch oven back in the Egg, get a metal rack and place it over the pan. Pop the large ball of mince on top of the grid.
Now you can leave your Egg to cook the beef ball for 2 hours. It should reach an internal temp of 66°C.
Once it’s reached temp, break up the beef ball using two forks, pushing it through your grid and into the sauce.
Stir it all together.
Now leave to cook for a further 30 minutes.

Serve your chilli with rice and sour cream. For a spot of indulgence, you might even sprinkle over some grated cheese. Leftover chilli is great with baked potatoes or can be transformed into Enchiliada or Burritos.

Obviously, chilli, like bolognese, is always better the following day reheated.