Chili Barracho a la Liz Recipe

Open a beer and take a few sips in order to get in the right mood... Brown meat in a little veg. oil and add salt, tomato paste, and hot sauce in a large pan (I use an 8 qt dutch oven). In the case of poultry, cook it until all the pieces start to get fairly white - not much pink showing. Add one bottle of beer, and two jalapenos (slit the sides so they don't burst). Simmer *covered* for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add more beer if needed. Drink more beer if needed... Remove jalapenos and squeeze juice into the chili. Add chili powder, cumin, bay leaf and cayenne. Cook for another hour, adding beer as needed - you probably won't need more than two bottles of beer for the actual chili. When there is 1/2 hour of cooking time left, taste and adjust seasonings. If you want more spice, add the third jalapeno as you did with the other two and maybe some more chili powder.