Chilly weather and chili go hand in hand. And although the Super Bowl has passed, America’s favorite spicy stew with Mexican origins is still a great, brisk-day option when feeding a crowd. It’s also known for being of a somewhat competitive dish, with chili cook-offs all over Long Island inviting highly acclaimed restaurants, firehouses and first responders to compete for top honors. Earlier this month, Greenport Brewing Company held its annual North Fork chili cook-off, a packed event that solidified the popularity of this beloved culinary creation.
Placing the words “award-winning” on the lunch menu in front of the chili offered at Westhampton Beach’s hidden gem Café Volo is worthy of the bragging rights, especially since the recipe has won quite a few accolades.
“It’s really about creating depth,” says Volo’s chef Phil Capobianco of the short rib and chuck-based dish he’s well known for, “to extract the flavors of the paprika and spices first before you start adding your liquids, diced tomato and peppers.”
Capobianco, a Sayville native and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, recalls the origins of what he refers to as “the thousand dollar chili” when a catering client hired him to enter a chili contest at a Wounded Warrior benefit back in 2015.
“I was working at Pace’s Steakhouse in Hauppauge at the time, and the joke was they handed me the corporate credit card and I spent a thousand dollars on chili ingredients,” he says laughing. “In the end, we won both the people’s choice and the judges best of awards, four years in a row.”
Capobianco’s chili recipe has traveled with him since he landed at Gabreski Airport in October 2020, when he took over the reins of the small café underneath the control tower and facing the runway.
“I just really wanted to come in here and offer breakfast and lunch, presented in a very nice way,” he says, “but customers started asking for dinner hours, so we offer that in the spring and summer so people can sit outside and watch the planes land.”
With the option of dinner and a show, it’s no wonder the café is a popular local and visitor favorite. “People come from Massachusetts or New Jersey, fly in, have a cheeseburger here, get back on their plane and fly home,” says Capobianco. “If you’re lucky, you catch one of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules land!”
Chef tips for the short ribs prep in this coveted chili recipe he shares with us?
“I prefer to cut prep time down by seasoning the short rib, giving it a quick sear in a sauté pan, and then place the short ribs in a pressure cooker with beef broth for 1 hour and 45 minutes.”
Happy cooking!
Café Volo’s chili
Ingredients
- 5 lbs ground chuck
- 1 1/2 lbs braised short rib, cut into small cubes
- 2 green bell peppers
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 4 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp barbecue seasoning
- 3 tbsp beef base
- 3 cups beef bone broth
- 1 can black beans (or beans of choice)
- 2 cans chipotle peppers, chopped finely
- 1 16 oz can small diced tomatoes
- pico de Gallo for garnish
- 1 fresh avocado, smashed and mixed with finely chopped cilantro
- sour cream
Directions
- Heat stock pot and add ground chuck. Sauté until meat is fully cooked on medium heat.
- Carefully strain off excess grease.
- Add chopped garlic and all dry seasoning ingredients and to meat mixture, stirring occasionally.
- Cook on medium heat for 1 minute to extract all flavors of ingredients stirring constantly to avoid burning.
- Add red and green peppers and red onions. Stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the beef starter and beef bone broth followed by the can of diced tomatoes and black beans.
- Cook for 1 ½ hours on low heat stirring occasionally.
- During the last 15 minutes of cooking, carefully fold in the cubed short rib.
- Seperate chili into serving bowls and top with smashed avocado mixture topped with the pico de gallo.
