Over the Top Smoked Chili

Please note, you'll need a smoker and a cast iron dutch oven for this recipe. I prefer to prep all my food first.  Start off by chopping the onions, peppers and garlic.  Set aside. Mix the ground beef (and optional bacon) with half of the chili seasoning.  If you added bacon, about a half-pound or so should be enough.  Be sure to substitute out that same amount of ground beef (2.5 lbs of ground beef instead of 3 with 1/2 lb bacon).  Fold and mix well and shape into a large ball. Put chopped vegetables, garlic, beans, diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce and the remaining chili seasoning into a cast iron dutch oven.  No sauteing, measuring or additional prep necessary. Set your Big Green Egg or smoker for indirect cooking at 250 - 275 degrees (plate setter, legs up).  Add your favorite type of wood chips for a little extra smoke.  Place your cast iron dutch oven in the smoker, directly on the plate setter (for the Big Green Egg, I put a spacer in between the dutch oven and the plate setter so that the bottom of the oven doesn't get too hot and burn.  A couple balls of foil work great or an upside down over burner tray.  You just want to give a space for air to travel).  On top of the dutch oven, you'll want to put your grate.  The grate should rest nicely on top of the dutch oven so you shouldn't need any racks or additional support.  Place the meat on top of the grate, centered over the dutch oven so that the drippings go into the chili mix.  Smoke the ground beef for about 2 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat is 160 degrees.  Once the meat comes up to temp, it's time to take it off and crumble it (or cut it up in the case of chuck roast).  Remove the meat and take the grate off of the dutch oven.  The meat will be hot and a little difficult to break up but crumble away and add the crumbled smoked meat to the dutch oven.  Allow to simmer for about another 30 minutes and you're ready to serve. - Note: Some people prefer to use a chuck roast instead of ground beef.  The chuck roast will take about 4 hours to smoke so if you do that, smoke it for 2 hours before adding the dutch oven under it for the last 2 hours. - Serve in a bowl, topped with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheddar cheese and a few more chopped green onions for garnish. Enjoy!