The Ohio River ties Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana together. This fall, so does a pot of chili.
As the weather cools, our Central farm list shifts from summer peppers to hard squash and pumpkins. That overlap is the sweet spot for chili. Late-season peppers are still coming in from Kentucky, and fall squash is arriving from Indiana. Pair them with Kentucky beef and Indiana chorizo, and you have a bowl sourced almost entirely from farms and food makers within a few hours of your kitchen. The Ohio River ties Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana together. This fall, so does a pot of chili.
Who’s in the Pot?
- Dennison Farms, Horse Cave, KY — yellow and red onions and jalapeños form the base.
- Lobenstein Farm, St. Leon, IN — blue hubbard squash, roasted and folded in for sweetness and body.
- Obenchain Farms, Hawesville, KY — frozen sweet corn, picked at peak and ready year-round.
- Snowville Creamery, Pomeroy, OH — crème fraîche for a rich, tangy finish.
- Queen City Farms, Williamsburg, OH — micro cilantro to top it off.
Kentucky ground beef and bacon, Indiana chorizo, and Kentucky chili powder, smoked paprika, chipotle blend, smoked salt, and sorghum round it out.
The Chef’s Playbook
No recipe here — just the building blocks. Take them and make the bowl your own.
- Base: Dennison Farms yellow and red onions and green bell peppers, (#19227, #21992, #25600).
- Protein: Ground beef from Black Hawk Farms (#55361) and Indiana chorizo (#23856). Start by browning the meat.
- Body: Lobenstein Farm blue hubbard (#21479). Roast the hubbard hard on its own so it caramelizes before it hits the pot.
- Heat and smoke: Dennison jalapeños (#22841) plus Kentucky chili powder, smoked paprika, and chipotle blend (#22525, #97164, #35510). Bloom the spices in fat before any liquid goes in.
- Sweetness: Obenchain Farms sweet corn (#36230), added near the end so it keeps its snap.
- Balance: A little Kentucky sorghum and Kaiser’s sliced pickled banana peppers (#93514, #90544) right before serving. Finish with smoked salt (#96002).
One Pot, Five Menu Ideas
- Loaded nachos: Shagbark corn chips (#30964), chili, Country View pepper jack (#33309), pickled jalapeños, and a drizzle of crème fraîche.
- Cornbread skillet: Weisenberger cornbread (#92224) baked in cast iron and topped with chili, and micro cilantro.
- Hubbard bowl: Chili served in a roasted blue hubbard half as a fall feature.
- Vegetarian version: Skip the meat and bacon, and add Kentucky sweet potatoes (#25810) alongside the hubbard.
- Chili-cheese fries: Chili over fries with melted pepper jack.
Why crème fraîche?
It stays silky in a hot bowl instead of breaking, and its gentle tang cuts through the smoky chipotle and rich chorizo. It makes a weeknight chili feel like a menu item. Snowville’s Creme Fraiche is made exclusively from milk supplied by cows tested to have only A2/A2 genetics, this premium cultured cream provides outstanding quality and versatility for both sweet and savory applications.
Put it on your menu
Every item above is orderable through What Chefs Want’s Local Food Connection program. Open Cut+Dry, go to Local Produce under Browse Catalog, or filter by region to find local items. Need a large or standing order? Talk with your sales rep to make sure stock is set aside.
