Spring in Montana is a spectacle to behold.
Often (but not always) the first persistent blush of the spring green-up has taken hold by this time in April (if the snow has melted out enough), it might be 65 one day and 25 the next, and fishers’ heavy winter coats have given way to transitional gear when out and about.
The crush of summer fishing crowds is but a distant memory, rivers aren’t yet blown out by runoff and spring hatches tempt fishers to break out the dry fly gear even if the streamer rod would still be a better choice.
Even now it’s chilly enough in the morning to make a cup of coffee (or two) and a hearty breakfast a damned necessity as opposed to the time-waster it is when you need to be on the water at 0600 to catch the summer’s trico hatch just so.
Lunch might still be a PBR and two Slim Jims (or vice versa), though something hot on the river midday is sheer genius when the morning’s coffee and biscuits have faded. We love taking hot soups and chili in a thermos on the river – they’re a great lunch and pick me up when fingers start to bitch about the cold and you’re running out of gas for the afternoon.
Most folks would probably call this a chili, though having grown up in Texas I was taught from the very beginning to deny the official ‘chili’ label to any concoction containing beans.
Call it whatever you want – chili, stew, river lunch – this one is damned good.
We stumbled into using chorizo pretty much by accident; it was the only sausage or pork we had in the house to add to a batch a few years ago. Turns out, with this combination of flavors, it’s outrageously good and a bit different than most other recipes (the touch of molasses helps there too).
Homemade chorizo is even better and a cinch to set up; if your butcher makes up bulk mexican-style chorizo that plays very well too.
Stir up a batch of this and go chase some blue winged olives this weekend.
1 lb. bulk mexican-style chorizo (see note above)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 lb. black beans, picked, washed and soaked
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, chopped, with liquid
1 8-ounce can roasted and chopped green chiles
1 quart chicken stock
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. cumin, ground
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tbsp. granulated garlic)
2 tsp. mexican oregano, crumbled between fingers
2 tbsp. black strap molasses (or more to taste)
Pinch of cloves
2 tsp. kosher salt
Water as needed
Sauté time. Warm your trusty stock pot over medium-high heat; crumble in the chorizo, breaking it up into small pieces and brown. Now add the chopped onion, celery, minced garlic (f using) and bell peppers and sauté until they begin to soften.
Head to bean town. Now add the prepped beans, tomatoes, green chiles, chicken stock and all the spices (chili powder, cumin, granulated garlic if using, cloves). Mix well, then stir in the molasses. Bring to a simmer and let it rumble gently for a couple of hours. Add water as need to keep the beans covered.
Mash it up. Using a potato masher, crush roughly 1/3 of the beans and stir in the salt. Add water as needed to cover and keep it simmering another hour or so until done.
Serve hot, with some grated cheese, chopped sweet onion, pickled peppers and chopped cilantro. Perfection out of a good thermos on the river.
Enjoy.
