There are many sorts of chili, I have learned in a life of loving chili. One of the chief divisions lies in whether one sears the meat first, or boils the meat first. Another lies in whether there are or are not beans included; another in whether the chilies used are green, dried brown, or red.
This is a red chili in the old Texas style. Meat is boiled raw rather than seared first.
2 pounds ground beef, 20%+ fat
Sufficient water to cover the beef
Additional beef fat ('suet'), up to 1/2 cup if beef is lean
Dried onions, 1/2 cup (add additional onion powder if desired)
Dried garlic to taste
1/2 to 1 TBS tomato powder (or substitute tomato paste)
1/4-1/2 cup dried New Mexico red chilies or guajillo chilies
2 ancho peppers
Chipotles to taste (at least 3, more if you like spicy chili)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp sage
1 tsp black pepper (fresh ground)
Lime or lemon juice to deglaze
Salt to taste
Add meat to cast iron Dutch oven. Cover with water; add suet. Boil, covered with iron lid, until beef is soft. Add dried onions and garlic, some salt but not yet enough to finish.
Roast peppers and cumin in black iron, add water to soften once roasted and hot; puree; add to Dutch oven.
Add aromatics (sage, oregano, black pepper) while boiling.
Cook until flavors are well combined. Deglaze with squeezed lime or lemon 5 minutes before finishing. Alternatively, remove from heat (covered) while still boiling, and allow to rest overnight in a cool place. Return to boiling to sterilize. Cool and salt to finished taste preference.
7 comments:
I have an older NM recipe (from northern NM) that uses cubed stew beef (probably originally flank steak, back when no one wanted it), boiled in beef broth and water, with ground dried chilies and cumin added. One interesting bit is that you are to skim off the foam as the meat simmers. Cooks for about three hours or so, but it comes from a high elevation area (over 5,000 feet), so lower elevations could probably use a shorter cooking time. You cook down the broth into something more like a sauce.
LittleRed1
My own cookie recipe is simplicity itself, but I may have to break down and try yours, Grim.
My chocolate chip and raisins with oatmeal cookie recipe is this:
Execute the cookie recipe that's on the cylinder of Quaker Oats. When those ingredients are mixed, add a cup each of chocolate chips (I use Hershey's) and raisins. Bake according to QO's directions.
The only trouble I have with this recipe is that it only ends with only half the claimed number of cookies. Probably because I have to sample the dough after each ingredient is added to be sure I'm getting it right. Sometimes it takes several samples at various stages to be sure.
Eric Hines
While I don't cook beef chili, pinto beans are part of my daily diet. Half the time or more, I add guajillo/chipotle/ancho peppers (and spices like yours) to the beans. One addition you might consider is star anise. It goes well with chipotles, to the ratio of 2 star anises to 2-3 chipotles.
If you already have star anise in powder form, so much the better. I pressure cook soaked beans with the peppers and star anise. After cooking, I put peppers and star anise in a blender and then add to beans.
I used fresh garlic and onions, but to each their own.
Other possible additions to the chili, poached from mole recipes, are peanut butter or chocolate.
I’ll take the star anise under advisement.
I also make versions of chili with fresh onions and garlic. When I do this one, I always think of it as a kind of Chuck Wagon chili. I like to use dried spices to give it a rich thickness, and because they’re the kind of spices you might have on a Chuck Wagon.
Sounds good. Gringo - peanut butter and chocolate in mole? What?
Tried this recipe tonight- had to wing some of it due to ingredients on hand.
Used bacon grease for lard, and chopped poblanos and canned chipotle's, chopped onion and tomato paste and powdered chile. First time on boiling the meat, usually I pan sear it.
Came out well, served over black beans with a dollop of sour cream on top.
I've never tried adding anise to beans or meat, but we have a killer pickled oyster recipe that leans heavily on it. We also use Pernod or Sambucca as substitute for the tarragon that can rarely get fresh here, such as in Chicken Marengo.
By coincidence I came home from the store yesterday with some chili meat. Maybe I'll make up a batch today with your recipe, Grim.
As for peanut butter, if you use the real stuff, no added weird ingredients, it's surprisingly good in a lot of soups, like butternut squash puree.
Post a Comment