Ingredients:

2 lb (900 g) lean ground beef
Montreal steak spice, or salt and pepper
8 hot Italian sausages
2 oz (57 g) olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups (1 L) julienned onion
2 cups (500 mL) diced celery
2 red peppers, julienned
2 green peppers, julienned
1 yellow pepper, julienned
2 cups (500 mL) sliced button mushrooms
6 28 oz (794 mL) cans diced tomatoes
2 14 oz (598 mL) cans tomato sauce
2 5.5 oz (156 mL) cans tomato paste
3/4 cup (175 mL) chili powder
1/4 cup (50 mL) dried oregano
1/4 cup (50 mL) dried basil
1/4 cup (50 mL) dried thyme
2 bay leaves
8 drops Tabasco sauce
6 drops Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

In a frying pan, pre-cook round beef until no longer pink, adding seasoning (salt, pepper or Montreal steak spice), to taste. Pre-cook sausages in frying pan or poaching pan. Once cooled, slice.

In a 20-litre stock pot, add olive oil and garlic; once garlic starts to sizzle, add onion, celery, peppers and mushrooms. Stir until vegetables start to become translucent, then add ground beef, sausage, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce – and keep stirring.

Mix in all remaining ingredients; bring to a slow boil, then simmer for 2 to 3 hours. It is very important to keep stirring regularly.

Remove what you want to keep chunky, and purée the remainder while still hot. Makes 7 to 8 lb (3 to 3.5 kg) or 6 containers with 3 to 4 portions each.