Hairy Bikers chilli con carne is a slow-cooked beef chilli with both mince and diced braising steak, three types of chilli heat, and dark chocolate stirred in at the end. It comes from Meat Feasts and feeds 6-8 in about three hours with kidney beans and black-eyed beans in a rich spiced sauce.
Si and Dave say “don’t be scared about the chocolate, it just adds richness” and warn “you must use proper bitter dark choc, not an Easter bunny,” which is why 70% cocoa solids is the minimum here. This is one of seven chilli recipes across their books because they clearly kept tweaking it until they nailed every version.
The technique that separates this from a normal chilli is browning the diced steak and mince in separate batches so the pan stays hot enough to sear. That caramelised crust is where most of the flavour builds, and skipping it is the reason most home chillies taste flat.
Hairy Bikers Chilli Con Carne Recipe
Description
A kilo of beef, half mince and half diced chuck steak, slow-simmered for two to three hours with chipotle, kidney beans, black-eyed beans, and 75g of 70% dark chocolate. From Si and Dave’s Meat Feasts, served with rice and soured cream for 6-8.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brown the steak: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy-based pan with a tight-fitting lid. Fry the diced steak in batches until browned all over, then set each batch aside on a plate.
- Brown the mince: Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the mince until browned, breaking it up as you go. Set aside with the steak.
- Cook the base: Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and fry both onions and the celery for 3 to 4 minutes until softened but not browned. Stir in the chipotle chilli, chilli flakes, chilli powder, and oregano, then cook for another 2 minutes.
- Build the chilli: Return all the beef to the pan and stir in the sugar, tomatoes, stock, kidney beans, and black-eyed beans. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and leave to simmer on low for 2 to 3 hours.
- Oven option: You can transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish and cook at 140°C (Fan 120°C, Gas 1) for the same amount of time.
- Finish with chocolate: Just before serving, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the chocolate until melted and add the coriander. Serve with steamed rice, a dollop of soured cream, and sliced spring onions.
FAQs
How do I make this in a slow cooker?
Brown the steak and mince on the hob first because a slow cooker cannot build that seared crust. Tip everything into the slow cooker with the onions, spices, tomatoes, stock, and beans, then cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 to 6.
Stir in the chocolate and coriander just before serving rather than at the start, since the chocolate can turn grainy if it cooks too long. The sauce will come out thinner than the stovetop version because there is less evaporation, so leave the lid off for the last 30 minutes if your slow cooker allows it.
What is the Route 66 version?
In Everyday Winners, Si and Dave have a Tex-Mex Beef Chilli inspired by their Route 66 TV show, and it is a completely different recipe. That version uses 750g of stewing beef with no mince at all, then simmers it in stout and strong black coffee for two and a half hours. They call it “a proper chilli good enough for any cowhand.”
If you want to try the coffee and stout combination in this Meat Feasts version, swap 100ml of the beef stock for black coffee and another 100ml for stout, since the bitterness works well alongside the dark chocolate.
Can I make this vegetarian?
In Mums Still Know Best, Si and Dave include Manyati’s Veggie Chilli from the Growing Together project, which is a simple vegetable stew with peppers, carrots, and fresh chillies. For something closer to this recipe, swap both meats for 500g of veggie mince and use vegetable stock instead of beef, then keep everything else the same.
The chocolate still works in the vegetarian version because it adds richness to the tomato base rather than the meat, so you do not lose that depth of flavour by removing the beef.
Is there a lighter version?
On the official Hairy Bikers website, Si and Dave have a Hairy Dieters chilli con carne at just 302 calories per serving. That version drops the braising steak entirely, uses lean mince with no added oil, and thickens the sauce with flour instead of long cooking, so it finishes in 45 minutes.
In Eat Well Every Day they also have a Chunky Beef Chilli Soup at 615 calories which turns the concept into a brothy one-pot with sweetcorn and extra stock, which fills you up with fewer calories from the meat itself.
Can I top this with nachos and cheese?
In One Pot Wonders, Si and Dave have a dedicated Chilli with Nachos and Cheese where they lay tortilla chips over the thick chilli, cover them with grated Cheddar, then grill at 200°C for 10 minutes until the cheese melts. They say “you end up with different textures, crunchy on the top and softer at the bottom.”
The key is reducing the chilli until it is very thick before adding the nachos, because a wet sauce turns the chips soggy within minutes. Si and Dave are clear on this: “you don’t want to put the nachos on to a liquid mixture.”
How many chilli recipes do the Bikers have?
Seven across their books, and each one is genuinely different. Meat Feasts has this chocolate version with both mince and steak. Everyday Winners has the Route 66 Tex-Mex with stout and coffee, plus a separate Chilli Con Carne with a baked sweetcorn topping. One Pot Wonders has the nachos and cheese version using both beef and pork mince.
Ultimate Comfort Food has a Smoky Chilli Beef Crumble with cocoa powder and a cornmeal crust. Eat Well Every Day turns it into a lighter chilli soup. And the Hairy Dieters version brings it down to 302 calories for anyone watching their weight.
