Hostile V posted:

I'm looking for some advice on how to tweak my chili to really make it pop. I like it a lot, don't get me wrong, and I'm not looking to go too deep into the weeds in work and materials because this is a lazy Sunday chili I make for my folks and save some for leftovers during the week. I just...it feels like I can elevate it just a little bit more, push it to a higher level rather than just rest on this being a legitimately good dish.

Cook a roughly diced pretty large sweet onion and like 5-6 cloves of crushed garlic over oil in a large pot until soft, transparent and fragrant, and add a pound of turkey, cook until cooked. Add:
1 can of black beans
1 can of refried pinto beans
15 oz of diced tomatos
1 cup of corn
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup of veggie broth
1 can of hatch peppers
1 package of lime chipotle chicken sausage cut into half moons
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
.5 t onion powder
.5 t garlic powder
1 T brown sugar
1 t salt
1 T cocoa powder
1 t instant espresso powder

Mix well and simmer on low for a minimum of a half hour. It creates a solid flavorful chili that doesn't need much in the way of toppings but I dunno I feel like it could use something more. I did cinnamon for a bit but it overwhelmed the dish very obviously and reducing its amount didn't do much in the way of bringing much flavor to the mix so I cut out cinnamon; I'm also considering a little honey, a splash of soy sauce, maybe adding mango. Definitely gonna try adding hominy instead of corn though, and also going to try to add canned chipotle in adobo, but any other recommendations based on what I'm working with?