I grew up in Texas, and I like to cook, so of course I developed a chili recipe. People may make a big deal out of the secrets of their chili technique, but to me the mystique of chili is more about what personal flair any particular cook brings to the dish. Some marinate their meat in advance, some use wine, stock or other tools to bolster their chiliās flavor. All of these are valid approaches to making your chili your own; go to as much trouble as you like.
That being said, I like to keep things simple so that there is time both to eat well and to enjoy life, and so I have kept this recipe pared down to the bare essentials for producing an excellent chili. The meat you choose will certainly be a big part of your chiliās character. I recommend cuts which benefit from long cooking times, and which will produce some gelatin during cooking. Beef cheek, brisket, shank, and rib meat are all good choices. I have also made chili from pork and from chicken. There is no reason why lamb, goat, venison, elk, etc., should not work well, as long as the meat will benefit from long, slow cooking.
This recipe is a good way to prepare meat for making tamales. Once the chili is done, perhaps without using the masa harina, separate the gravy from the chunks of meat.
This chili is a very dense dish; properly sized portions of chili will seem a little small. Garnish with diced raw onion, diced tomato, cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream, beans (refried or otherwise), pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla chips, or whatever your favorite thing might be. I grew up eating a variant of this chili with soda crackers!
Makes enough for 4-8 portions, depending upon appetite and garnish.
Equipment:
ā¢ 1 large stew pot
ā¢ 1 cast iron pan
Ingredients:
2 lb beef for stew As discussed above; cubed
1 can diced tomatoes 20 oz
1ā2 Tbsp salt for the cubed beef at searing time
1ā2 Tbsp black pepper for the cubed beef at searing time
1ā2 bulb garlic minced
2-3 ea onion diced
1 Tbsp oregano dried
1ā2 Tbsp cumin freshly ground
2 pods guajillo chile freshly ground
2 pods ancho chile freshly ground
2 pods Thai bird chile freshly ground
1 pods chipotle chile freshly ground
2 Tbsp masa harina nixtamalized corn flour
Procedure:
1. Dice the onions and place them in the stew pot over low heat.
2. Mince the garlic and add to the onions.
3. Sweat onions with garlic until barely translucent.
4. Place all dry herbs and spices into a spice grinder and reduce to powder.
5. Dice the stew meat into bite-sized chunks.
6. Apply salt and pepper to meat and sear it on hot cast iron.
7. When onion and garlic have sweated, stir in the spice powder.
8. Transfer seared meat to stew pot as it becomes done.
9. Try to preserve and deglaze the fond in the searing pan.
10. Once all meat is in the stew pot, use a little tomato liquid to deglaze the pan, and add all the rest of the tomatoes to the pot.
11. Turn up the burner to bring the stew pot to a simmer.
12. If need be to ensure all meat is just barely covered with liquid, after stirring, add water or beef stock to the stew pot.
13. Allow your chili to simmer over low heat for 3-5 hours, stirring every so often, until the gravy has achieved an appealing brown color and the meat is tender enough to fall apart on the edge of a spoon.
14. Serve your chili next to some chips, and topped with yellow cheddar, sour cream, onions and tomatoes for a truly Texan chili experience.
15. If you want beans in your chili, make beans and add some to your chili. Grant others the same choice.
Music: