Winning chili recipes bring the heat to Firefighters Challenge

Jan. 25--What is it about chili that stirs up heated competitions?

Akron got its big serving of rivalry last week when the Akron Firefighters Chili Challenge celebrated its 11th year.

I was there for the third year on the judges' panel, and I snagged you two winning recipes. One isn't really a recipe; it's more of an outline. But with Coca-Cola as one of its ingredients, it may inspire you nonetheless.

The news this year was that the firefighters redeemed themselves, capturing both the People's Choice and Judge's Choice awards at the challenge at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron.

Last year was a flameout for the firefighters; they won nary an award for the first time in the history of the challenge.

This year, they won with spicy-hot Hero Chowder, the chili child of Adam Lovell, 30, a firefighter/paramedic who is a graduate of Columbus State Community College and Springfield High School south of Akron.

Lovell is known for his barbecue and smoked meat, employing a smoker where he works at Fire Station No. 4 on Thornton Street, on downtown's southern edge.

"I just hoped the heat wouldn't deter too many people from voting for it," Lovell said.

The other recipe is dubbed Wholly Chili, a sweet chili featuring carrots and sweet potatoes from the team representing the city of Akron's human resources department. It garnered the Joe Smith Spirit Award, named for Akron police Detective Joe Smith, who died in 2014 and had helped with the Chili Challenge every year.

We judges thought Wholly Chili showed a lot of spirit, given that it came with a bevy of toppings: avocado, cheese, sour cream, fresh jalapeño peppers and Fritos.

"We're all about healthy options for our employees, health and wellness," said John Goodrich, 37, a personnel technician in the human resources department.

Goodrich won an office competition with the chili earlier this month, using a paleo recipe -- no dairy, no wheat and no added sugar -- from the Tastes of Lizzy T blog. Goodrich acknowledged that some of the toppings are definitely not paleo.

Each year, the firefighters challenge other city departments and local businesses to see who can create the best pot of chili. Members of the public buy samples and get to vote for People's Choice. This year's event raised more than $2,500 for the Akron Children's Hospital burn center.

Here's some trivia just in time for National Chili Day, Feb. 23: The International Chili Society oversees 150 to 200 cook-offs each year, while the Chili Appreciation Society International sanctions nearly 500. (The Akron Firefighters Chili Challenge is not sanctioned.)

The other judges this year were Jim Beers, First Tee of Akron PGA professional; Taylor Dowling, Akron Children's Hospital associate special events coordinator; Sophie Franchi, Devil Strip magazine managing editor; Tim Miller, Akron Board of Education member; Becky Mundy, Akron Children's Hospital nurse educator; and T.K. O'Grady, WONE (97.5-FM) radio personality.

On to the recipes!

Hero Chowder is more of an outline. Lovell, who like the other competitors made 10 gallons for the challenge, said he didn't work from a recipe.

He used locally raised ground sirloin (from Duma Meats in Suffield Township), fresh onions and peppers, stewed tomatoes, onion and garlic powder and ancho chili powder, and a homemade adobo sauce. This sauce featured canned adobo chiles (with sauce), apple cider vinegar, Coca-Cola and fresh garlic.

Once all the ingredients were combined and the chili had cooked for a while, he added semi-sweet chocolate chips "to just give it a little bit of depth."

Here's the recipe for the other winning chili:

WHOLLY Chili

2 lbs. ground beef

1 red onion, chopped

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 can (29.5 oz.) tomato sauce

2 cups petite diced tomatoes with juice

3 cups beef stock

1 cup carrots, sliced

5 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. thyme

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup chili powder

Dash of oregano

Dash of red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan, brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Drain fat.

Add remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Mix well, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 30-40 minutes or until sweet potatoes and carrots are cooked through. Remove bay leaves.

Makes 10 servings.

Recipe from Tastes of Lizzy T (www.tastesoflizzyt.com/paleo-sweet-potato-chili/).

Note: John Goodrich made one addition: fresh jalapeño peppers (in addition to those used for a topping). For the above amount of chili, Goodrich said he would add two jalapeños, seeds and all, cutting off the tops and then cutting each pepper lengthwise to expose the center.

Slow cooker option: Instead of simmering the chili on the stove, you can brown the ground beef, drain off the fat and place it in the slow cooker. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer on low all day (6-8 hours) or high for 4-5 hours.

Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter and read the Akron Dish blog at www.ohio.com/food.

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