A Year-Round Guide to Franklin and Nantahala

On the grill the night before: 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 3 pounds or more total) 2 bell peppers, halved and seeded 3 poblano peppers, halved and seeded Grill

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Strata

On the grill the night before: 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 3 pounds or more total) 2 bell peppers, halved and seeded 3 poblano peppers, halved and seeded Grill

On the grill the night before:

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 3 pounds or more total)
2 bell peppers, halved and seeded
3 poblano peppers, halved and seeded

Grill chicken on indirect heat for about 45 minutes, to about 165° — done enough to shred by hand the next day, but cooking to exact temperature is not terribly important. It’ll simmer tomorrow for a few hours. Why bone-in, skin-on? Flavor.

Blister peppers on direct heat, then move to indirect heat until soft. Pull when done, about 10 minutes. This can be done anytime during grilling.

Put all of that in a Ziploc bag in the fridge and go to bed.

Day of:

3 yellow onions, chopped or diced
Olive oil
Many cloves garlic (6 to 8), minced
Roasted peppers, chopped
Cumin/oregano/salt/pepper to taste (go easy on the salt until the end)
Chicken, shredded, skin and bones discarded
2 to 3 cans white beans (cannellini, navy, what have you) and liquid
3 (4-ounce) cans Hatch chiles, 2 mild, 1 hot (or all 3 mild, to taste) and liquid
3 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes and liquid
½ can cheap light beer
Red pepper flakes to taste
Cilantro, lime wedges, shredded cheese (optional, for serving)

In a large pot, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent. Add minced garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add chopped roasted peppers. Add cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken. Add all other ingredients: beans (we do not rinse and drain, but you could; just be sure to add more beer to account for liquid), Hatch chiles, tomatoes.

Simmer at least 1 hour, and preferably longer — until beans reach desired consistency and chicken shreds further. Add red pepper flakes as desired.

As for exactly how much chicken/another can of tomatoes/rest of the can of beer/etc.: This is about consistency. We favor a thicker chili, but we also understand that every chili recipe is slightly different every time.

We top with cilantro and shredded sharp white cheddar. Finish with a squeeze of lime and serve with skillet cornbread.

— Nico Ramirez-Perry and Drew Perry

Click here to read the story behind Nico’s award-winning chili.

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This story was published on Oct 29, 2024

Drew Perry

Perry teaches writing at Elon University. His first novel, This Is Just Exactly Like You, was a finalist for the Flaherty-Dunnan prize from the Center for Fiction, a Best-of-the-Year pick from The Atlanta Journal Constitution and a SIBA Okra pick. His second, Kids These Days, was an Amazon Best-of-the-Month pick and was named to Kirkus Reviews 'Winter's Best Bets' and 'Books So Funny You're Guaranteed to Laugh' lists.