Smoking the meat “over the top” is a great way to get extra flavor into your chii. We love this method because it only requires a few steps yet produces such a deep flavor!

The beef picks up a smokey flavor while dripping all of its juices into the chili ingredients as it cooks over the top. This method will give the chili a deeper flavor than traditional chili because the ground beef receives direct smoke contact.

Over the Top Smoked Chili

This recipe can be tailored to your taste buds and modified to your schedule. Its flexibility makes it a great recipe for all skill levels. It’s also a great family-friendly recipe that also makes amazing leftovers. 

Ingredients you’ll need

• Ground Beef – chili is typically made with ground beef, but you can also put your spin on it with other proteins like venison, bison, pork, turkey, or elk. This recipe works with both leaner and fattier proteins. I used Snake River Farms American Wagyu ground beef.
• Homemade chili seasoning – chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, black pepper, salt, cumin, and cayenne
• Chili beans – we know there’s a debate on whether or not beans belong in chili. If you’re team beans, we love to use kidney beans and pinto beans. If you don’t like beans in your chili, feel free to skip out on the beans and double up your protein.
• Tomatoes – canned, paste and sauce. This is a tomato-heavy recipe! From diced tomatoes to paste and sauce – these ingredients brighten it up and tie it all together.
• Onions and peppers
• Additional spice – I like to add a can of diced up jalapeños for some extra spice, however feel free to skip over this ingredient for a more mild flavor. 
• Toppings – top this chili with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onion, and hot sauce to take it to the next level.

Equipment you’ll need

• Smoker – I used my Traeger Timberline XL pellet smoker, but any smoker will work for this recipe.
• Wood – I suggest using hickory, oak, and or mesquite. I used hickory pellets.
• Dutch oven – I used a 5-quart ceramic-coated cast iron Dutch oven for this recipe, but any grill-safe soup pot will do the trick.
• Meat thermometer – I recommend a wireless or wired probe thermometer to track the temperature of the ground beef while it smokes. However, an instant read thermometer will work fine. I used my Meater Pro Thermometer.
• Baking rack – using a baking rack to smoke the ground beef is recommended to keep it in place.

Over the top chili vs. traditional chili

Both types of chili can be delicious, and I don’t think one is clearly superior to the other.

• Traditional Chili – For traditional chili, you would cook the ground meat and the onions and peppers first, browning them in the bottom of the pot. Then you would continue to add the remaining ingredients as they cook to build layers of flavor, then let it simmer to all come together. It’s a great method that we know and love. 
• Over the top chili – Begins by cooking the meat separately and simultaneously with the remaining ingredients. This will eliminate the caramelized flavor that you would get from browning the meat and veggies. However, it will add a smokier flavor because of the direct contact the smoke has on the ingredients in the early stages of the recipe. Then, those two parts fuse together for a smokier flavor and crispier texture.

How to make smoked over the top chili – step by step instructions

1. Fire up the smoker

Preheat your pellet smoker to 250°F, using hickory, oak or mesquite wood. A sweeter wood like cherry or applewood will give it less of a smokey flavor. I used a hickory and oak blend of pellets. 

2. Make the seasoning

Combine chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, black pepper, salt, cumin, and cayenne.

For extra spice, double up the cayenne pepper and or add chipotle powder. You can also use your favorite store-bought chili seasoning.

3. Prep the ground beef

Add the ground beef to a clean and flat surface. Season with half the homemade chili seasoning (saving the other half for the chili mix). Add tomato paste and diced jalapeños for an extra kick.

Mix until thoroughly combined, and then form the meat into a log and place it on a baking rack.

Place the ground beef on the top or middle rack of the smoker and place your Dutch oven or soup pot under the meat. If you only have one rack in your smoker, place the baking rack directly on top of the Dutch oven after preparing the chili ingredients. 

If you are using double the protein, you will want the log to be higher, not wider, so that it properly drips into the Dutch oven. If you are using a leaner protein like turkey or wild game, you may also want to add some cooking oil to keep the meat hydrated. 

4. Prep chili ingredients

Prepare chili ingredients by straining and rinsing the canned beans. This helps the beans hold their structure.

Dice the onions and peppers. Add them to the chili pot, followed by tomato paste, diced tomatoes (with the juices), and rinsed and strained beans. Season with the remaining chili seasoning.

Let smoke for one hour. 

5. Add tomato sauce

After the meat and the chili have smoked for one hour, the meat should start to have a darker color and begin to drip into the chili mix.

Add the tomato sauce to the chili mix and stir until well combined. Smoke for an additional hour.

If you want an even deeper smoke flavor, you can smoke the beef and the chili at 220°F for 3-4 hours versus 250°F for 2 hours. 

6. Combine it

After two hours, either remove the ground beef from the smoker and let it cool, then crumble into the chili pot. Or, if you have heat resistant gloves, you can go ahead and crumble the ground beef up while it’s hot.

This is where you can choose the texture of the meat. I like to crumble half of the ground beef into finer pieces and then crumble the other half into medium-sized chunks.

This will create a couple of layers of texture so that you get meat in every bite. I like to make chili dogs with the leftover chili, so I don’t want to have big chunks in my chili because of that! To each their own.

7. Continue smoking

Continue to smoke the chili for at least one additional hour, not exceeding 4 hours at 250°F.

I let my chili smoke for an additional two hours at 200°F before my family came over so that it would continue to keep warm while adding some extra smoke.

Your chili may thicken up in this process. However, you can thin it out with a splash of water, tomato juice, broth, or beer! I love to thin my chili out with a simple lager. 

Serving over the top chili

We love topping our chili with sour cream, green onion, shredded cheese, and hot sauce. For an extra kick, add fresh jalapeño slices.

I recommend leaving the chili in a big serving bowl and letting people serve themselves with their favorite toppiongs.

Smoked Over the Top Chili Recipe

This Over-the-Top Smoked Chili recipe takes your chili game to a whole new level with smoky, tender ground beef that drips its juices into the chili as it cooks. Don’t forget to check out our Smoked Brisket Chili and Leftover Pulled Pork Chili for more delicious ideas, and please leave a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this recipe!

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Smoked Over the Top Chili

This chili is smokey, hearty with a rich deep flavor.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 393kcal

Author Rosalie Bradford

Ingredients

For the meat log

• 3 lbs ground beef
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 tbsp canned diced green chilis optional, I like fresh jalapeños
• ½ chili seasoning

For the chili base

• 2 cups canned kidney beans
• 2 cups canned pinto beans
• 3 cups canned diced tomatoes
• 1 white onion diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• 1 red pepper diced
• 6 cups tomato sauce
• ½ chili seasoning

For the chili seasoning

• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Toppings

• sour cream
• green onion
• shredded cheese
• hot sauce

Instructions

• Preheat your smoker to 250°F, using hickory, oak, or mesquite wood.
• Add the ground beef to a clean and flat surface. Season the ground beef with half of the homemade chili seasoning. Add the tomato paste and diced jalapeños for an extra kick. Mix until thoroughly combined, then form the meat into a log and place on a baking rack.
• Place the ground beef on the top or middle rack of the smoker and place your Dutch oven or soup pot under the meat. If you only have one rack in your smoker, place the baking rack directly on top of the Dutch oven.
• Prepare chili ingredients by straining and rinsing the canned beans and dicing the onions and peppers. Add the onions and peppers to the chili pot, followed by the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and beans. Season with the remaining chili seasoning. Smoke for one hour.
• Add the tomato sauce and stir until well combined. Smoke for an additional hour.
• After two hours, either remove the ground beef from the smoker and let it cool then crumble into the chili pot, or crumble the ground beef up with heat resistant gloves.
• Smoke for an additional hour to finish cooking or continue lower the temperature to 200°F to keep warm for up to 4 additional hours.
• Serve with your favorite chili toppings.

Chili seasoning

• Make the chili seasoning by combining all the ingredients.

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1146mg | Potassium: 1074mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1326IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 5mg