For sausage chile, I would suggest any of the above with the following added.
Brown the sausage the same way as any bulk cubed meat in the same pot that the chili will be made in. Then remove the sausage and make the chili as usual. Add the sausage back into the mix for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.
The sausage is already tender and does not need to stew for hours. Also, all the fat will leave the sausage if its stewed for very long and you'll end up with flavored rocks. The oil from the browning will flavor the mix.
