You can cover it, leaving it slightly ajar though

do I cook it covered, or uncovered?

When you cook the beef, tip the pot to 1 side, and put in paper towels to soak up the fat.

Anna, where sou you find black soybeans?

Absolutely Deb! *But* I’ve used my Instant Pot and used the sautée function for the browning of the ingredients (and then its perfect to just set on low for 3-6 hours0. That’s the only thing that I’m a bit hesitant of just dumping everything in the crockpot (been there, done that!)- that you do miss out on some of the flavor that you get from the browning. xo!!

Hi guys! It is actual cloves (the spice!), as it adds lively sweet notes. I find them fairly easy to spot during the final round of seasoning… but to be sure you can always pop them in (tea bags so they ‘steep’ into the chili for a bit. Xo!

Actually, it also says add 4 cloves too, so I’m with the original questioner. I do not want to bite into a whole clove. Can we sub ground cloves?

Garlic. Cloves of garlic. Ie one of the sections of a bulb of garlic.