A Holiday Tradition From The Kitchen Of Jim Carl: West Texas Devil’s Chicken Chili

Jim Carl, our Senior Director of Film, is probably best recognized for his special appearances at every Retro Film Series screening on Friday nights (and of course his trademark cauldron), and his love of film is legendary among avid filmgoers at the theater. Another little-known fact about Jim (that should probably be part of one of his top 10 lists!) is that he loves to cook and has a secret recipe stash with many hidden culinary treasures. We asked Jim to share one of his holiday favorites and he happily obliged with a recipe for West Texas Devil’s Chicken Chili. Enjoy! 

JIM’S WEST TEXAS DEVIL’S CHICKEN CHILI 

I got this recipe from my aunt several years ago.  The original recipe called for vegetable oil, sugar, and cornstarch.  I’ve substituted these with low-cal options.  The recipe also called for 1 cup of hand-diced fresh tomatillos, and I had no clue what a tomatillo was.  Later when I found out, I cut this from the recipe on the belief that if I wanted to work that hard, I would have become a stagehand. Or a farmer. 

Chili Ingredients

Avocado Oil Spray 

½ fully diced onion ** 

2 fully diced green bell peppers ** 

1 jar of sliced jalapenos, drained 

1 tub of sliced white mushrooms, optional 

4 tablespoons of minced garlic 

½ container of chicken broth  

3-4 cups of water (depending on the size of your crockpot) 

2 teaspoons of lime or lemon juice 

2 tablespoons of Stevia 

3 tablespoons of ground cumin, optional 

2 ½ tablespoons of chili powder 

2 tablespoons of paprika 

2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 

½ teaspoon of ground oregano 

1 can of diced tomatoes and chilis (Rotel also works) 

1 cup of pinto beans, uncooked

4-5 large uncooked chicken breasts, diced 

Salt and pepper 

Shredded low-fat cheddar or mozzarella cheese for garnish 

Lite sour cream for garnish

** I buy bags of frozen pre-diced pepper and onion mix.  It saves me a helluva lot of time from having to dice them myself. 

Step-by-step Instructions

The evening before: 20px  Drain the beans before placing them in the crockpot the next day. 

Heat a skillet and spray the Avocado Oil in the pan.  Add the onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms, and garlic.  Cook until vegetables are tender.  Set aside in a container and place it in the fridge. 

In the morning when you wake up: In a crockpot, combine the water, chicken broth, lemon/lime juice, Stevia (or substitute), and all the seasonings (cumin, chili powder, pepper flakes, paprika, oregano) and add the pinto beans.  Set the crockpot at low heat and cook for 6 hours until the beans are tender.  

After about 6 hours, you can uncover the crockpot and add the uncooked diced chicken, the can of diced tomatoes and chilis, and the pre-cooked vegetables (from your fridge).  Season liberally with salt and pepper to your liking. 

Cover the crockpot and cook on low heat for another 3-4 hours until the chili is as thick as possible.  Watch TV or do something festive.  If you timed your day right, you should be ready to eat around 4-5pm.  You can transfer the chili from the crockpot into a big container and put it in the fridge.  

This dish is very spicy and dark in color.  Depending on how long you let it cook, its consistency can be more like chicken stew or soup than chili.   

Serve it with the cheese and sour cream as a garnish.  Makes about 4 quarts. Enjoy! 

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