Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate Chilli Beef

Rich, smoky, deeply savoury and finished with just enough chocolate to make people ask what your secret ingredient is.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate can go into a meat dish.

And it works surprisingly well.

In this recipe, a small amount of Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate powder is added to a slow-cooked chilli beef sauce alongside tomato, chilli, cumin and smoked paprika.

The chocolate does not make the dish taste like dessert.

Instead, it adds depth, rounds out the tomato and chilli flavours, and gives the sauce a darker, richer finish.

This is exactly the kind of recipe that proves Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate has a much bigger job description than we first imagined.

Ingredients

• 750 g beef mince
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1½ tablespoons Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon chilli flakes, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and black pepper to taste

For Serving

• Rice
• Nachos or tortilla chips
• Sour cream
• Grated cheese
• Fresh coriander
• Avocado
• Fresh chilli

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or heavy-based pot over medium-high heat.

2. Add the onion and red pepper and cook until softened.

3. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

4. Add the beef mince and cook until browned, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

5. Stir in the cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, chilli flakes and cinnamon.

6. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute.

7. Add the chopped tomatoes, beef stock and Worcestershire sauce.

8. Stir in the Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate powder.

Start with approximately 1 tablespoon, taste later, and add the remaining amount if you want a deeper flavour.

9. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.

10. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered for approximately 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

11. Add the kidney beans during the final 10 minutes of cooking.

12. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.

Why Put Hot Chocolate in Chilli?

It sounds strange until you understand what the chocolate is doing.

A small amount of chocolate can add:

• Depth
• Roasted flavour
• A subtle bitterness
• Richer colour
• Balance against tomato acidity and chilli heat

The important thing is not to use too much.

You are not trying to make chocolate beef.

You are using chocolate as a seasoning.

And that makes a very big difference.

Make It Hotter

If you enjoy proper chilli heat, add:

• Fresh chopped chilli
• Extra chilli flakes
• Cayenne pepper
• Chipotle chilli if available

The smoky chilli flavours work exceptionally well with chocolate.

Add Rescue Roast® Coffee Too

If you want to take the flavour even deeper, replace approximately ¼ cup of the beef stock with strong brewed Rescue Roast® coffee.

Coffee, chocolate, beef and chilli all have deep roasted flavour notes that work surprisingly well together.

This gives the sauce an even richer, darker finish.

Slow-Cooker Version

Brown the onion, garlic and beef in a pan first.

Transfer everything to a slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients except the beans.

Cook on low for approximately 6–7 hours.

Add the beans during the final 30 minutes.

How to Serve It

Spoon your Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate Chilli Beef over rice or into bowls and add:

• Grated cheese
• Sour cream
• Fresh coriander
• Avocado
• Nachos
• Fresh chilli

It also works brilliantly inside wraps, tacos or loaded baked potatoes.

The Important Rule

Keep the Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate subtle.

The finished dish should taste rich, smoky and savoury.

Nobody should immediately say:

“Why does my beef taste like hot chocolate?”

Instead, they should be wondering why the sauce tastes unusually deep and delicious.

Hot Chocolate Just Got a Very Different Job

We started with mugs.

Then came brownies, waffles, fudge, mousse and desserts.

And now...

Rescue Roast® Hot Chocolate is going into dinner.

We did warn you that we had been seriously underestimating this stuff.