The Best Wine To Add To Your Chili For A Flavor Boost

If you like to sip wine while you cook chili, or pair the meal with a glass for dinner, you might not realize that the boozy beverage can also be added into the dish itself. Wine is a popular way to deglaze a pan, add layers of flavor, and enhance other ingredients in dishes including that piping-hot pot of chili on the stovetop. The trick is to use the right type of wine to match the ingredients in the pot, like ground beef and diced tomatoes. To help, we spoke to Jesse Moore, corporate chef at Cargill Protein North America.

Moore's recommendation is, "A good red wine on the dryer side." For reference, red wine contains a higher amount of tannins, which will help cut through the fatty ingredients like the meat. The acidity will also balance out the rich flavors in the chili — but it doesn't take a lot. "Remember, a little goes a long way. You don't want it to take over the chili just to highlight the flavors. A couple ounces in a regular batch at home should be good to impart flavor." Any dry red wine will work, including varieties like cabernet, pinot noir, and syrah. Stay away from adding sweet red wines to the mix, as the sugary flavor profile will alter rather than enhance the stew.

You don't just pop the cork and pour a splash of red wine into the chili before serving. First, cook the onions and garlic, then add the meat. When the meat is nearly cooked, deglaze the pan with red wine. Use a spoon or spatula to scrape off the delicious bits in the bottom of the pan with the help of the acidity of the red wine, then add your spices like chili powder. Next, follow the rest of the recipe. If you don't drink red wine often, here are some delicious red wines so that you can enjoy the rest of the bottle by the glass with the meal.

Most chili recipes made with red meat like ground beef will benefit from the red wine suggested by Jesse Moore. But if you need a recipe, we have some to test out this new technique. The ground bison and crushed tomatoes in our bison chili recipe will be leveled up with a fine, dry red wine. And if you can't find bison in a nearby grocery store, add a splash to this beef chili with pancetta, ancho, and chocolate recipe for layers of flavor.