Why This Recipe Works

The secret to keeping the beef in this chili tender? Baking soda. By mixing the ground beef with baking soda before cooking, you raise the meat’s pH. This helps its proteins attract more water and hold onto that water during cooking, giving you tender and juicy meat—plus, it helps with browning, too! The concept of pH might be new to kids: pH is a measurement of how acidic or basic a substance is. Acidic ingredients taste tart or sour and have lower pH readings, while basic ingredients tend to taste more bitter and have higher pH readings—and there are far fewer basic ingredients than acidic ingredients in the kitchen (baking powder and baking soda are the two most common examples). While your chili simmers, ask your young chef to think of acidic foods (and taste them, if you have any). Lemon juice, vinegar, sauerkraut, and pickles are all great examples. Kids can also taste some plain water as a “control”—water is pH-neutral, meaning it’s neither acidic nor basic.

Before You Begin

Serve with your favorite chili toppings, such as pickled jalapeños, shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, or crushed tortilla chips.

Instructions

In medium bowl, combine beef, water, and baking soda. Use rubber spatula to mix until well combined. Set aside.

Set colander in sink. Pour beans into colander. Rinse beans with cold water and shake colander to drain well.

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat for 1 minute (oil should be hot but not smoking). Add onion, bell pepper, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for 1 minute.

Add beef mixture and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Carefully stir in broth, tomatoes, and drained beans. Use wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of Dutch oven. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through (use oven mitts to handle hot lid).

Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until chili is thickened, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.