Very good! I also won a chili cook-off with this basic recipe. I made a few changes based on the ingredients I had. Didn't have an Italian seasoning so I made up my own mixture of basil, oregano, garlic and parsley. I used 3 cans of hot and spicy chili beans and reduced the chili powder to about 3 tablespoons. I only had one pound of hot sausage so I reduced the ground beef to 2 pounds. I followed the suggestion of others and reduced the BBQ - probably only used about 1/2 cup. I would suggest frying the bacon very crisp or mincing it. Most of mine was very crisp, but the few pieces that weren't just looked like fat in the chili. I took the suggestion of someone else and called the chili "chocolate chili cha-cha" and served it with sour cream and mini chocolate chips. It certainly piqued everyone's interest. Thanks for the great recipe and great suggestions!

Reviewed On: Oct. 18, 2009