Well, after launching into a "mission to find the best chili recipe," I've now committed to doing a real Texas chili, instead of this Yankee stuff I have been making with all sorts of beans n vegetables. So next time I'm going to just use the following:
Ground chuck
Brisket
Onions
Homemade BBQ sauce
Garlic
Chilli powder
Cayenne powder
Paprika
Cumin
Brown sugar
Salt
Beer