craveytrain

So, thanks to a couple x-mases from my grandmother, I had some $100 worth of gift cards to Dillards. Well, I’m not into clothes atm really, but I got a nice Le Creuset 5.5 Qt. Enamled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Ain’t she purty?

What better to break her in on than an attempt at my perfect chili. I have been trying to perfect my chili for years. I have tried lots of different things from chili meat (coarse ground chuck) to ground beef, to stew meat, to caldillo, to venison, to pork, etc. And while I did stumble across a really tasty roasted green chile pork stew along the way, but I was looking for chili. Texas Red to be specific. Now, I am of the belief that chili doesn’t have beans. Now, that’s not to say that i don’t like beans in my chili-like concoction. However, I call that beef stew or chili soup or something along those lines. I didn’t grow up that way, that’s just how I eventually decided I feel about chili. So, after years of trials and tribulations, the inaugural cooking in my new pot is simmering away at this very moment while I write this post.

What you may be thinking (especially if you are from Texas) is What the hell? He’s gonna give away his chili recipe? You see, chili recipes are closely guarded secrets in Texas (and they may be else where). However, I like to share good recipes with the world (or with both of you that read my blog). That and I think this chili may be the first recipe post than I can truly call my own. Not saying that no one has done it this way before, but if they did, I didn’t know about it.

Depending on the crop of habs, this chili ranges from kinda mild by my standards to decent and spicy. However, if you want something with plenty of kick (I call it The Pain, partly so I can say I brought The Pain), don’t seed the habaneros. Warning, it will be hot. I’m not telling you it will be spicy, that it will burn your lips, or that it will tingle your senses. I am telling you right now it will be hot. Like you will regret it the next day hot. That’s what I do when I make chili for cookoffs.

So, without further ado:

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb stew meat
• 1.5 lbs caldillo beef (chuck diced in 3/4” cubes)
• 2 tbsp Essence
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 tsp ground oregano
• .5 tsp cinnamon
• .5 cup of masa harina (corn flour)
• .5 cup of olive oil
• .25 cup manteca (lard)
• 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 habaneros, seeded & diced
• 3 chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce), chopped
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp adobo sauce
• 2 bottles of beer (I like Negro Modelo)
• 1 qt beef stock
• 1 oz bittersweet chocolate

Prep

Put the meat in a large bowl and cover with salt, pepper, cinnamon, Essence, 2 tbsp chili powder and 1 tbsp cumin. Don’t mess around with the spoon, get your hands in there and break up all the little pieces of meat, making sure seasoning gets on all of it. Cover meat with masa and again, make sure all the pieces of meat are coated.

Heat up a heavy bottomed pot (or a dutch oven) to medium high and add about a third of the olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pan).

Cooking

When the oil is hot, add half the meat and then half the manteca. Let meat brown and start to carmelize. Don’t worry if ya burn some. Turn the meat and let it brown on all sides. Reserve it off to the side with a slotted spoon (leaving as much liquid as possible). Add another third of the olive oil and the rest of the meat. Add the rest of the manteca. Brown the meat the same way as before. When done, reserve meat off to the side with the rest.

Turn the temperature down to medium , add the rest of the olive oil to the pot and then the onions, garlic and habaneros. Saute for 5 - 7 mins until they get soft. Add the tomato sauce, the chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce. Add the rest of the chili powder, cumin and oregano. Bring to a boil.

Once it is boiling, add both beers deglaze the pot. Boil for 10 mins to reduce. Add the meat back and the beef stock. Simmer for 1.5 hours until the meat is tender.

Once meat is tender, add chocolate to chili and stir in to melt.

Serve it up, and drop me a line to let me know how you liked it.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 25th, 2006 at 10:06 pm and is filed under food, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.