Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings from the saucepan (reserve the drippings). Increase the heat to medium high, add the beef and cook, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon; wipe out the pan.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon drippings in the dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and tomato paste and cook for 6 minutes (add a splash of water if the mixture begins to stick). Add the beer and simmer until almost completely reduced, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef and any juices from the plate; add the cocoa powder, tomatoes, beef broth and beans and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens slightly, about 90 minutes.
Season with salt. Add some beef broth if the chili is too thick. Ladle into bowls and top with crumbled bacon, cheese, scallions and/or sour cream + chunky avocado salsa
Notes
And while I used a Negra Modelo to make this – you can easily leave out the beer and replace it with a bit more stock if that’s more your jam. Either way, you’ll be obsessed.