Cheesy White Chicken Chili Low-and-Slow in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipe

Cheese, chicken, and beans. A White Chili Recipe Baked Low-and-Slow in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven for a meal that will taste like you’ve been cooking all day long.

Chicken, Lunch, Meal, Meats, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

April 25, 2023

Heating a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Cook anything in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven with these easy steps. How to heat the oven. How many Briquettes / Coal / Charcoal to use. Baking Frying Roasting.

Camping, Iron, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

February 27, 2023

Beer and Iron’s Simple Roasted Chicken

Beer and Iron Simple Roasted Chicken

Easy. Simple. Delicious!

The scene is suspenseful; dark and gloomy. The climb down is hard and treacherous. Out of his pocket falls a small box. He reaches out in desperation but to no avail. He calls out to his single companion struggling below to hold on to the rope. They are dangerously exposed on the cliff face. His companion reaches for the small, falling box and loses his grip on the rope. He yells out as he falls back and into the mist below. Luckily, the fall was only a few feet. The companion gathers the box from the ground and examines it. “What’s this?” he asks.

Sam answers Froto: “Nothing. Just a bit of seasonin’. I thought maybe if we was having a roast chicken one night or somethin’.”

Clip from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Plan Ahead

Plan a bit ahead with this recipe. As always, we brine our chicken before roasting. There’s an article on Beer and Iron as well as a video that shows you how to brine a whole chicken: WATCH IT HERE

The next time you go grocery shopping or make an online grocery order, pick up a whole chicken. Most grocery store chickens are about 3-4 pounds (1.5 kilograms). As soon as you get home and settled, set that whole chicken to brine. Yes, that same evening.

Here are two links WITH VIDEOS on brining meats (chickens are in the examples given). Trust me when I say: brine the chicken. It will not disappoint.

The Hot Method: https://beerandiron.com/basic-beer-brine-template-recipe/

The Cold Method: https://beerandiron.com/how-to-beer-brine-whole-chicken/

Here’s another way to Roast Chicken: https://beerandiron.com/roasted-beer-brined-chicken-cast-iron-dutch-oven-on-grass-straw-hay/

Let’s Get Started

And a roasted chicken sure does sound good for tonight. Roasted chicken seems to be a simple thing; yes, it does. Put the chicken in the oven at 350°F / 177°C and cook it for 20 minutes per pound and until the juices run clear. You and I both know it’s not that easy. Naw, it ain’t that easy; and that’s why Costco sells 100 million rotisserie chickens every year out of over 625 million sold each year in the USA. That’s like 2 grocery store-cooked chickens for every person in the USA each year.

Someone ate my two chickens!

I am going to share with you how I create the perfect roasted chicken each and every time. It’s going to be crispy, it’s going to be juicy, and it’s going to be evenly roasted. And best of all, it’s going to be easy. But it’s going to take a bit of planning (there’s always a “but”). But, don’t let that bit of planning sway you back to Costco for that plastic-packaged over-cooked rotisserie chicken, this ain’t near the work or planning you think it is.

The secret to the perfect roasted chicken is this: preparation and a bit of planning. Just telling y’all how it is. It’s really not that much preparation. I am just like you: BUSY! BUSY! BUSY! There are times when I don’t have a clue what’s for dinner; and then comes the “where do y’all want to go eat at?” question.

Meal planning seems to be a hassle. And it is. But mealtime experiences are usually the pinnacle of our evenings and time together as a family. I find myself planning out a day or three down the calendar to make sure I’ve got some ideas. And, if you follow this recipe and plan, you’ll have a perfectly roasted chicken and be ready for dinner by the time everyone is ready for their after-work and after-school meal.

Ready to Cook

Step 1: Brine the Chicken.

2-5 days before you plan to roast your chicken, set the whole chicken in the brine (follow the links for either the cold brine method or the hot brine method). Place that brining chicken in the refrigerator and let it rest there. Move it about each day or so to make sure the salt stays stirred up and the chicken evenly brines.

Start with the cold method of brining. You’ll have that chicken out of the grocery store bag and packing and in the brine in less than 10 minutes. IT’S EASY!

Start your brining journey with a 2-day brine. I can’t “taste” what salty taste like to you. So, start with 2 days and if the chicken tasted perfectly salted and juicy then you have your brine time that works for you. If it was lacking a bit of saltiness and flavor, next time add a day to the brine time and see how things go. Read more about saltiness here: https://beerandiron.com/salt-to-taste/

Step 2: Remove the Chicken from the Brine.

When you are ready to cook your chicken. Pull it down and leave it in the brine about an hour or two before you start your chicken to roasting. When you are about 10 or 15 minutes from ready to put the chicken in the oven, start the following steps.

Chef Tip: I will usually call my wife to pull the chicken down even before I get home from work. Or, I will pull it down as soon as I get home and let it “warm up” as I change and “get the day off of me.”

Step 3: Set your oven to preheat to 350°F / 177°C

When you are ready to get busy and cook this chicken and while your oven is preheating, gather your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven or skillet. Get your trivets ready.

We are going to cook this without a lid on the Dutch oven.

Step 4: Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry the chicken with paper towels.

Set the dripping chicken on a tray with paper towels underneath the chicken while you pat dry the chicken. Watch the fluid “hiding” in the cavity; it’ll spill out everywhere.

It does not have to be bone dry. All you need is to dry the brine from the chicken and before you apply the oil to the chicken skin.

Step 5: Truss the chicken.

Chicken has so many different “thicknesses.” And, by the time the depths of the breast or the thigh joint has reached doneness, the leg and wing have long since been cooked and has likely reached an over-cooked state. Trussing the chicken draws everything in and keeps the parts-and-pieces dress-right-dress. Trussing promotes an evenly cooked chicken.

How do you truss a chicken you ask? There’s a video of this whole process above; if you still have problems trussing the chicken, let me know. It’s not hard…once you’ve done it a few times…but…it’s hard the first time!

Trussing is optional. Your chicken will roast just fine if you do not. It’ll be less than perfect but it will be AMAZING nonetheless.

Step 6: Oil the outside of the chicken.

You will not need much oil at all. Oiling the chicken skin will help that skin to crisp up and work like a “sack.” That “sack” will hold that moisture better. You will even see that sack-like nature when you pull the roasted chicken from the oven and see the skin “deflate” as the air temperature changes from the oven to the air of your kitchen.

Step 7: Using your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, set a trivet in the bottom.

Most all chickens from the grocery store will fit nice and neat in a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. You need some air space all around the chicken while it’s in the Dutch oven.

For you fine folks that grow your own chicken, you may need to consider a 7-quart or a 9-quart Dutch oven. The size of the chicken will determine the size of the Dutch oven you will need.

I use a trivet for this recipe. Not too many folks have a good trivet. If you don’t have one, then get one here:

I have two of these and use them all the time. They also work GREAT as bacon presses and don’t let moisture build up under them like most presses causing all that popping and grease stinging.

A trivet is optional. I want the chicken not to be in direct contact with the heat and cook evenly. I usually use TWO trivets like in the video.

Step 8: Set the whole, trussed, oiled chicken on that trivet inside the cast iron Dutch oven.

I don’t use a lid for this recipe. I leave it open to air at the same 350°F / 177°C the whole time. Some will suggest heating up the oven to a very high temperature and letting it “seal” or “sear” in the moisture. But, we do just fine at one constant temperature.

This is where you are free to add anything else to the pot along with that chicken. Sometimes we’ll put spriggles of thyme, rosemary, or whole cloves of garlic. These additional will add to the flavor of the chicken.

If you do add something to the pot with the chicken, make sure it will both tolerate the longer cook time and finish cooking at the same time your chicken is done. If not, add it later in the cook. Most of the time, when we add something to the pot with the chicken, we add those ingredients as flavor ingredients.

Step 9: Set the chicken in the oven without a lid.

Just pick a middle shelf in your oven and set it in there but close enough to the door to reach it with our temperature probe.

Step 10: Insert a meat thermometer temperature probe to the thickest part of the breast.

We set the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the breast, but we don’t go all the way down to the bone. We stick the temperature probe about 2/3rds the thickness of the chicken breast. If you hit the bone, just pull back a bit and you’re A-OK.

The wired thermometer keeps life easy! Trust me on this one. We use this Wireless Meat Thermometer to keep from guessing when the chicken is done. I don’t have to open the oven door but once and that’s to use my other meat thermometer to do a double check.

I am writing this article as my chicken cooks now. I don’t have to do anything while the chicken cooks but wait on that “beeping” from my device.

I also use this with my Camp Chef camp cast iron Dutch ovens when cooking outdoors. It’s something I suggest.

All of my links are affiliate links and I appreciate you all if you chose to click and purchase from these links. Disclaimer: I use each and every item I link you to. And, I try not to fluff up the links. I want this website to be about the food and not a bunch of pop up ads and videos.

Step 11: Roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F / 74°C

This is a tricky step. If you have ever cooked a whole, roasted chicken and find that there is still some “pink” in the center, you know the struggle is real. The breast reads “165” and the thigh joint reads “148.” Dang it!!

We are assured the chicken is completely done by the initial breast meat temperature reaching 165°F / 74°C. Then, we pull it from the oven and double check with our other meat thermometer.

Step 12: Remove the chicken from the oven and check the temperature at the inner thigh to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

The 2nd best place to make sure the chicken is done through and through is the inner thigh area near the breast but not touching bone.

You can check with the same temperature probe you cooked with. It’s a little sluggish on quick reads. We have this 2nd meat thermometer to make sure.

If the breast meat and the inner thigh joint are at 165°F / 74°C, we are sure the chicken is completely cooked and ready to eat.

And that’s all there is to it. Now you have a perfectly roasted chicken.

Beer Pairing

Roasted Chicken is a light-colored meat. So, stick with a light-colored beer. Hey, I ain’t making that up. Try it. But, take some more advice: Stick with a nice Pale Lager, Helles Bock, and Helles Lager; these are excellent choices.

And though a bit darker in color but excellent with roasted chicken: Amber Lager, Vienna Lager, and Märzen are good choices as well. Many ales go well with roasted chicken like the blonde ale, wheat ale, and Kölsch.

Golden Lagers (bottom fermented at cooler temperatures) and Golden Ales have similar characteristics (with lagers always being clear). Golden Ales will be a bit bitter but not too much. Golden Lagers have a tad bit of sweetness that definitely will not overwhelm, nor will it linger.

And if a not-too-bitter golden ale “calls” you from your beer fridge, then a golden ale will not disappoint with this meal. If a Pilsner is all you have, it will not disappoint either.

A bit of trivia: Where did lagers get their name? Going back to the 1600’s, lagers were brewed during the colder months and lagered for the summer months. Lager beers were lagered…meaning stored.

It’s BOTH! An entrée and an Ingredient

This recipe will produce a nice, juicy, roasted chicken that can either be served whole or can be deboned and used in different recipes. It will add so much to any chicken-as-an-ingredient recipe.

There’s not much that will not go well with whole, roasted chicken.

Roasted Carrots

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Roasted or Mashed Cauliflower

Asparagus

Potatoes au Gratin

Fettuccine Alfredo

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Garlic Baby Potatoes.

Garden Salad

Mac and Cheese

Sweet Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

BREAD!

Scalloped Potatoes

Can you think of anything that does not work as a side with roasted chicken?

Consider getting creative with these sides. Cauliflower, yeah! But what about Roasted Herb & Lemon Cauliflower or Garlic and Rosemary Brussels Sprouts?

Herbs that go well with Roasted Chicken

Hands down, my favorite herb to use with chicken is sage. I love, love, love the flavor of sage and chicken. Thyme is my next go-to with rosemary being an equal love of mine.

Other herbs and vegetables go well with chicken such as cilantro, oregano, marjoram, tarragon, garlic, and lemon (though lemon is really a fruit).

Marjoram and Tarragon are not my go-to herbs but some recipes call for these two herbs and if I am preparing the whole chicken as an ingredient for other recipes, I will use one or both with my chicken.

Beer To Use In This Recipe

The beer ingredient in this recipe is added during the brine. Most any light-colored, easy-on-the-bitterness beer will work. When you start out brining for this recipe, or any chicken that you plan to brine, use a lighter-colored, easy-to-drink beer and then experiment from there.

I often use a nice citrusy beer with this recipe.

I love craft beer and appreciate the craft beer’s value. They are more expensive than big-brewery beers. And, truth be known, many of them big-brewery beers ain’t too bad to drink. If that’s all I have or have been offered, I’ll enjoy that big-brewery beer and the friends I am enjoying it with.

Less expensive, easy-to-drink beer works very, very well for brining chicken. Consider Corona, Modelo, or even a DosXX. You will not be disappointed in how this chicken will turn out. Not to mention, that brine will not deplete your craft beer stock nor break the bank.

24 12-ounce Coronas at my local market right now costs about $26.88. I venture to say that 24 12-ounce craft beers would be 3 times that much.

Lastly, don’t think that using a beer that you consider inferior as a drinking beer will be a bad brining beer. Not in the least. They actually make for BETTER brining beers. Craft beer takes brewing to new flavor heights and we love craft beer and the brewers who toil over perfection.

However, these delicious flavor notes may cause the chicken to taste a bit off. Stick with a plain-Jane brew (sorry you Janes…I ain’t talking about you but other Janes).

Avoid dark beers, sweet beers, and beers with a high IBU. The IBU is the International Bitters Unit which is a measurement of how bitter or hoppy the beer will taste.

The Cast Iron

5 or 7-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven (a 5-quart will work for most every chicken you pick up from the market).

The size of the Dutch oven depends on the size of your chicken. I have a Vintage Cast Iron 10-quart Sportsman Fish Fryer with the Griddle cast iron lid that I use when I want to roast two chickens at the same time. After all, the energy and time it takes to cook one chicken in the oven is the same if you put two in the oven.

Most ovens will accommodate two 5-quart cast iron Dutch ovens and even a 5-quart and a 7-quart at the same time.

The Supplies

I have included some affiliate links:

Larger Zipper Storage Bag: https://amzn.to/3wCz6Ek

Bowl to hold the brining chicken while it’s in the refrigerator.

Meat Thermometer (Optional): https://amzn.to/3wCnS2o

Butcher’s Twine (Optional if you plan to truss): https://amzn.to/3HDjJBw

Ingredients:

36 Ounces of Beer (for the brine)

3 Tablespoons of Salt (for the brine)

NOTE: This is the basic brine. You can create a brine either using the cold method or the hot method. Yes! I do have a how-to article and video for both!

4 Pound Whole Chicken give or take a few ounces (or even a pound).

2-3 Tablespoons of Oil to Coat the Chicken Before Roasting

Chef Tip 1: Chicken is considered “done” at 165°F / 74°C. Because chicken has different parts with varying thickness, be sure to check the chicken at a few other spots to make sure it’s done.

Chef Tip 2: The truth be known: it takes the same energy to cook one chicken as it does to cook two. We will cook a chicken in two 5-quart Dutch ovens at the same time. I have a large Fish Fryer Pot that I set the two trivets and chickens in; one on one side and one on the other. They fit perfectly. I found my used, so keep your eye out for one:

Chef Tip 3: Don’t toss the bones, innards, or skin…MAKE A BROTH (How to Coming Soon).

Summary

There you go! Now, what do you think? It’s really as easy as brine, roast, and enjoy (with a few days in between).

Yes, there is very little difference between this recipe and our Chicken On Grass Recipe.

We roast chicken all the time mainly for the chicken to be used in an ingredient in Gumbo, Chicken Stew, Chicken Enchiladas, and so much more.

Let me know what you think and how your roasted chicken turned out.

Easy and Simple Beer Brined Roasted Chicken

Easy and Simple, BEER-BRINED, Roasted CHICKEN COOKED IN A CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 1

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings

Equipment

5 or 7 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven Depends on the size of your chicken
Larger Zipper Storage Bag To Brine In
Larger Bowl To hold the brining chicken while it’s in the refrigerator.
Meat Thermometer Optional
Butcher's Twine

Ingredients

The Brine

36 Ounces Beer Light colored lager or ale with less bitterness
3 TBLS Salt Kosher is best

The Chicken Roast

1 Whole Chicken 4 Pound (Give or Take)
2 TBLS Oil Any oil will do. Use this to coat the chicken.

Instructions

Brine The Chicken 2-5 Days Before Roasting

Create your brine – In The Zipper Bag, add the 32 ounces of beer and then add the 3 Tablespoons of Salt. It will foam up!
Remove the chicken from the market packaging and remember to remove anything from the cavity of the chicken.
Place the chicken in the brine. Do not truss your chicken yet. Just the whole, raw chicken into the beer brine.
Store the brining chicken in the refrigerator for two to five days.

Ready To Cook

Remove the Chicken from the Refrigerator about an hour or two before you are ready to cook.
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 177°C.
Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry the chicken with paper towels.
Truss the chicken with the butcher’s twine.
Use the oil to coat the outside of the chicken.
Using your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, set a trivet in the bottom.
Set the whole, trussed, oiled chicken on that trivet inside the cast iron Dutch oven.
Set the Chicken in the Oven Without a Lid.
Use a temperature probe to the thickest part of the breast.
Roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F / 74°C
Remove the chicken from the oven and check the temperature the inner thigh to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Notes

Chef Tip 1: The 2nd best place to make sure the chicken is done through and through is the inner thigh area near the breast but not touching bone.

Chef Tip 3: I will usually call my wife to pull the chicken down even before I get home from work. Or, I will pull it down as soon as I get home and let it “warm up.”

Chef Tip 4: Don’t toss the bones, innards, or skin…MAKE A BROTH

Keyword beer brined chicken, chicken, Chicken Breast, roast chicken, roasted chicken, whole chicken

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Chicken, Dinner, Meal, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

February 12, 2023

Now We’re Cooking With Grass

Roasted, Beer-Brined Whole Chicken Cooked in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven on Grass, Straw, or Hay. Nutty, earthy aroma and flavors.

Chicken, Dinner, Meal, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

May 14, 2022

Beer Beef Bone Broth Recipe in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Beer Beef Bone Broth a rich and nutritious broth made from what most call soup bones and butcher scraps. And it makes the most amazing soup, chili, and stew base you’ve ever wanted to taste.

Broth from a box will get you “this is good stew” complements but, this broth will make stew so good they’ll start trying to speak “this stew is amazing” before they even swallow (so keep a napkin ready).

This is not a typical bone broth recipe and is not for drinking like a “normal” bone broth recipe. We will not add any salt, apple cider vinegar, or vegetables.

Chili, Soup, Soups, Stews

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

March 21, 2022

Mexican-Style Ground Turkey and Beer-Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers in Cast Iron

As rumor has it, there was this fella named Christopher Columbus that sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Poor fella; was searching for India and the peppercorn plant and found the Bahamas and the bell pepper. Good ‘ol Christopher saw all those peppers and said, “¡Eso parece una campana!” No, that’s a lie. He may have said “that looks like a bell” in Latin or jotted it down in his secret journal in Greek. No, I don’t know what the fella said, but it is generally accepted that Columbus is credited for naming the fruit (from a flower and seeds on the inside). Looking for India, Peppercorns, and “love in all the wrong places.” Ha! Now you’ve got that song stuck in your head.

I’ve got an old reprint of a cookbook called Boston Cooking-School Cookbook from the late 1800’s and there’s a great stuffed bell pepper recipe…rumored to be the first stuffed bell pepper recipe ever. But, I am not so sure about that. There are so many different cultures with their own version of the stuffed bell peppers.

We’re gonna swap this up a bit; of course we are! We’re Beer and Iron. We’re gonna add beer! This recipe may sound complicated with all its steps and parts; but don’t let the step-by-step shy you away. I am presenting this recipe in two ways: 1) Step-By-Step and taking nothing for granted and 2) The Quick-And-To-The-Point recipe (the printable version). If you print this recipe and need a bit more explanation, you’ll have the Step-By-Step to refer to.

NOTE: You will likely have more stuffing than bell peppers to stuff. That’s A-OK. Better than the other way around. Bell Peppers come in all kinds of sizes and subsequently stuffing space (and also depending on your pepper packing proficiency…OKAY! Three time fast!).

Also, this article has affiliate links.

We are going to cook this recipe in a cast iron baking pan (what you will find in the photos). However, a cast iron skillet or even a cast iron Dutch oven will work very well with this recipe. Use what’s in your arsenal of iron!

9 x 13 Inch Cast Iron Casserole Pan. This will hold about 4 bell peppers (8 halves). If you don’t have any cast iron bakeware, use any cast Iron baking pan/pot/skillet large enough to accommodate the number of bell pepper halves you plant to cook. And, that also depends on the size of the bell peppers you are cooking with (affiliate links).

5- or 7-quart Dutch oven for browning and sautéing (a 9-quart will be okay too and, if you don’t have a Dutch oven, use a 12-inch cast iron skillet or larger).

3-quart Cast Iron Sauce Pot for cooking the rice (okay, if you want to use a different pot for the rice, we’ll let it slide…this time).

Knife To cut the onions and the bell peppers.
Smaller Knife To cut out the Placenta of the Bell Pepper.
Cutting Board.
Regular Spoon from the silverware drawer for spooning the stuffing into the bell peppers.
Wooden or Bamboo Spatula for sautéing and stirring it all about as we prepare the ingredients.
Bowl With a paper towel on the bottom to drain the meat and onions after we brown and sauté them.
Can opener for the canned black beans (unless you are making fresh black beans and then KUDOS to you my friend).
1 Cup Measuring Cup to sort out the rice and beer.
Measuring Spoons: Teaspoon and Tablespoon.
Wired Thermometer (Optional) – To keep track on the internal temperature of the roasting, stuffed bell peppers.
Strainer To FIRST drain and wash off your black beans and later to allow the meat and sautéed onions to drain.
Large bowl to mix all the ingredients.
Hot plate and hand mits (that cast iron is HOT!).
Serving Spoon.

A nice lager or a Belgian will work well. I’d avoid an IPA; we love that hoppy touch to a beer but the remaining bitters may be a bit overwhelming in this recipe. Avoid the beers with a sweeter flavor like porters and stouts.

A common ingredient in many stuffed bell pepper recipes is rice…oh glorious rice! And how do we make rice better? We cook it with beer.

4 Bell Peppers – colors are your preference
2+ Table Spoons of Oil Olive (or Grapeseed Oil) for coating the outside of the bell peppers. You may need more oil.
1 Pound Lean Ground Turkey Breast (2 pounds if you wanted the stuffing to be meatier).
2 Cup Beer Rice (See Recipe) – Could just use rice or brown rice (Rice needs to be pre-cooked).
1 Chopped Onion – About a cup’s worth raw. You’ll have less than a cup after sautéing…and that’s what we want.
1 Can of Black Beans Drained and Rinsed
½ Cup Frozen Corn More or Less and Fresh from the Garden is A-OK too
1 15oz Jar of Salsa about 15 ounces (give-or-take of cold or room temperature salsa)
1 TBSP (Heaping) Taco Seasoning. OR TWO! If you want Homemade, try this recipe. If you want more Mexican flavor, add more!
1 Cup Shredded Cheese Or Two (No such thing as too much cheese).
Optional: Fresh Chopped Cilantro Parsley, Chives, Green Onions.
Optional: Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt.
Optional: Sliced Avocado.
Salt to Taste – Salting any recipe can be tricky; it will make or break the experience for sure. Consider the salt that is in the rice before adding salt to this recipe.

Step 1: Preheat your Oven to 400°F (205°C) and your cast iron pot that you plan to brown the ground turkey meat in and sauté the onions in.

Step 2: Start the rice cooking on the stove top (See Beer-Rice Recipe).

Step 3: Cut the washed bell peppers lengthwise and through the stem and then cut out the “placenta” but leave the stem on the pepper (not all halves will be able to keep the stem depending on the stem location).

Step 4: Coat the outside of the peppers with the oil.

Step 5: Place the cut and oiled bell pepper halves open-side-up in the 9 x 13 Inch Cast Iron Casserole Pan (or other) and put them in the preheated oven.

Step 6: Roast the bell peppers for about 25-40 minutes depending on thickness.

Step 7: Place the oven-pre heated pot over a medium-high burner, add a bit of oil (about a tablespoon or two), and brown the ground turkey meat.

Step 8: While the turkey meat is browning, drain and rinse off the black beans then put them in the bowl you plan to mix your stuffing in.

Step 9: After browning the turkey, set it aside in the colander to drain.

Step 10: Using the oil/fat left behind from the turkey, sauté the onions until they “clear up.” If there is not enough oil or fat left to sauté the onions, you can add a bit of oil here.

Step 11: Add to the mixing bowl:

1 Can Rinsed Black Beans (already done).
1 Cup of Browned Ground Turkey
1 15 Ounce Jar of Salsa
1-2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning store-bought or homemade (See Homemade Taco Recipe)
The Sautéed Onions.
1/2 Cup Corn Kernels
2 Cups of Beer-Rice (See Recipe Here).

Step 12: Remove the bell peppers from the oven and fill them with the prepared stuffing by using the silverware spoon. Just “mound” the stuffing slightly.

Step 13: Put the stuffed Bell Peppers in the Oven. Warm everything up to an internal temperature to around 165° F (75°C). I use a wired thermometer like this one (affiliate link):

Step 14: Pull the hot, roasted, stuffed bell peppers out of the oven.

Step 15: Preheat the oven to BROIL!

Step 16: Sprinkle (or coat) the tops of the bell peppers with cheese.

Step 17: Place the cheese-topped stuffed bell peppers back in the oven on broil and let them brown (keep a close eye on them; they will burn)

Step 18: Once the cheese is toasted, pull them from the oven and top them with fresh and chopped cilantro or parsley, avocado, or sour cream (Greek yogurt works pretty okie-dokie too).

Stuffed bell pepper with a Spanish…Mexican…Texan…American…Idahoan “piquant after-dinner flavor – heavy, but with a touch of mellow smoothness.”

There’s tomato, turkey, pepper, cumin, rice and the bell peppers with mild and sweet flavors of the yellow, orange, and red varieties and the “green” grassy flavor of the green bell pepper.

Then there’s the cheese…oh my gracious! CHEESE! Smooth and such a flavor bolus that really brings these peppers to life!

Though I threw in the “Idahoan” part there (that’s where I’m from) this is definitely a dish that screams “South of the Border” with an Italian hint…after all…if people can be Heinz 57 so can our food, right!!! (HIGH FIVE!).

With the tomato acids, this meal will pair well with a nice amber ale. And, with the Tex/Mex flavors, most any lager should be a nice addition to the palate-satisfying finish.

Think Mexican lagers like Corona, Pacifico, Modelo, and Tecate would be some examples. My fellow craft beer lovers likely have some of their favorites come to mind with these lager examples (though that Modelo is pretty nice for a less-than-craft-brew).

Sulae’s Suggestion: Lager / Mexican Lager

We’re not looking at courses here, we looking to balance the meal with a side dish or two like French fries with a burger.

Stuffed bell peppers are a meal in and of themselves. There’s the fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Fiber…sure enough!

My 14-year-old tends to go back for the second and sometimes the third bell pepper. Often times there is “spillage” of the stuffing that has made its way out of the bell peppers and sits on the plate. Having a nice side to “mix” this stuffing with is a nice way to “clean the plate.” So, often I will create some sides for this meal. Some great foods and recipes that pair well with stuffed bell peppers are:

Basic Polenta – Keep it simple; the stuffed bell peppers are the star of this show.

Corn Chips – Great with any Tex-Mex themed meal. But easy does it!

Mashed Potatoes – This goes with everything. Though not my go-to with this recipe, it’s sure good at “gathering up the stuffing spillage.”

Cauliflower Rice – Yes, there’s rice in this recipe…but cauliflower rice ain’t rice that’s for sure.

A lot of recipes call for stove top and oven use during the same meal preparation. We want our iron hot when it’s time to start cooking! And, if you must preheat the oven anyway, you might as well heat up the cast iron you’ll be using on the stove top in the process. That way it’s hot and ready for what ever deliciousness you are about to introduce that pot or pan with.
Cut up and measure out all your ingredients first. Do this while you are heating up the stove or the cast iron. There’s nothing like having a smoking pan on the stove ready for that onion and the onion is still being chopped. This tip alone will save you a headache and make the cooking process so, so much more enjoyable.

Mexican-Style Ground Turkey and Beer Rice-Stuffed Bell Peppers in Cast Iron

Pre-roasted bell peppers filled with ground turkey mixed beer-rice, salsa, and black beans.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 237 kcal