As far as any of us know we’ve all signed over every right and body part we have to countless companies. And I don’t mean that metaphorically. How many times have you read terms of service before agreeing to them? If your answer is anything but “exactly zero times” you’re probably a lawyer. But maybe we should all start paying more attention to them. Not even because we need to know what we’re agreeing to. But it turns out they might have some tasty Easter eggs hidden in them. Like with Peacock’s terms of service. It’s hiding the recipe for Kevin’s Famous Chili from The Office.
We all know the value of undercooking your chili’s onions. Now we know the value of reading the fine print. TikTok user Mckenzie Floyd’s boyfriend found an unexpected treat nestled deep inside Peacock’s formal terms of service. In the middle of legal mumbo jumbo sits the recipe for the chili made famous during a cold open in The Office‘s fifth season. (A delectable secret we first learned about at GameSpot.)
That hilarious disaster remains one of the show’s signature moments. It also recently led to actor Brian Baumgartner ranking some common canned chilis for Delish. (Spoiler alert: none of them come close to living up to Kevin’s version, but at least these ones are much harder to spill.)
The recipe for Kevin’s Famous Chili, the thing the character definitely did best/worst, isn’t actually that big of a secret, though. NBC shared it last year on National Chili Day to promote The Office on Peacock.
But just as a T. rex doesn’t want to be fed a goat—it wants to hunt one—it’s more fun finding a recipe buried in an unlikely place.
If you prefer though, you can see it below right here. Don’t worry, we don’t have a bunch of legalese you have to dig through. That way you don’t have to worry about signing any rights over to us. Just know we’re always open to free chili.
Ingredients
- 4 dried ancho chiles
- 2 Tbs neutral oil (vegetable, canola or grapeseed)
- 3 lbs ground beef (80/20 or 85/15 lean)
- 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 large jalapeño, finely chopped
- 1 Tbs dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 2 12 oz. bottles of beer (lager or pale ale)
- 3 cans Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups beef stock
- 2 ½ cups chopped ripe tomatoes
- 2 Tbs kosher salt
- Chopped scallions, shredded Jack cheese and sour cream (for topping)
Instructions
- Combine beef and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Sauté until meat and onion are browned (the trick is to undercook the onions).
- Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, toasted ancho chilis, and water.
- Season with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and ground black pepper to taste.
- Boil on a low-heat.
- Simmer for 15 minutes while covered.
- Add toppings of your choice
