Ought Six
Membership Revoked
Thermonuclear Texas Chili
Ingredients:
2-1/2 lbs. lean beef chuck roast, cut into ~ 3/8" cubes
1/4 lbs. thick-cut bacon, diced
1 qt. beef stock
3 large yellow onions, diced
1-1/2 lbs. ripe tomatoes (optional; I don't use them)
1 12 oz. bottle dark beer
1 lbs. fresh peppers
6 cloves garlic, diced fine
3 Tblsp. soy sauce
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 dried pasilla chilie pod
a few dried hot chilies
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano leaves
1 tsp. epizote` (you can find it at Mexican markets)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
Spike seasoning
liquid mesquite smoke (optional)
cooking oil
corn flour (aka masa)
salt & black pepper
----------
About Chilie Peppers:
WARNING: Chilies should be handled with rubber kitchen gloves at all times, and wash them before you try to take them off. Don't touch your face or other sensitive areas of your body with the gloves, or with your hands if you touch chilies. The vapors given off by fresh chilies when you roast or cut them, and any chilies when you cook with them is like tear gas, so work with chilies in a well-ventilated area. A fan on low to blow away the fumes helps when you're cutting or handling them.
For fresh chilies, California or Anahiem chilies are the mildest. They're the mild 'green chilies' you find in the can. Pasilla chilies are a bit hotter, but not much. Ancho chilies are a little hotter (but still mild), and have a firmer flesh. Yellow and jalepeno chilies are about medium hot. Habanero and Scotch Bonnet peppers are the hottest known to man, and are pure chemical warfare. They are only to add heat. BE CAREFUL WITH HABANEROS AND SCOTCH BONNET PEPPERS! DO NOT EAT THEM! They can and will actually blister the inside your mouth.
For the best flavor, use a mix of fresh chilies. I like a mix of ancho, yellow, ripe red jalapenos and habaneros, but then I like it super hot. You can adjust the mix of hotter & milder peppers to control the heat. Keep in mind that all fresh peppers vary greatly in heat, so the same variety may be hotter or milder next time. Be brave, and taste a tiny piece to see what you're dealing with. DO NOT USE CANNED CHILIES! They suck.
For the best flavor, fire roast your own fresh chilies (except the habaneros or Scotch Bonnets; just finely dice them raw). This is best done on a hot, covered barbeque, with wood smoke from a small perforated foil packet of mesquite chips placed directly on the coals off to the side. Throw the fresh chilies on the grll, and leave them to cook until the skin is blackened and blistering. Turn them, and repeat until cooked on all sides. When done, immediately place the roasted chilies in a gallon-size plastic food storage bag and seal, leaving them to steam from their own heat for ~ 15 minutes. Remove them from the bag and rub the skin off with gloves, and cut out the top & core attached to it, and open the chilie and remove the seeds. DON'T WASH THEM OR RUN WATER OVER THEM! You will wash away much of the flavor. You can also to this over a gas burner or with a propane torch, holding the chilies with tongs. Of course, you don't get the natural smoke flavor that way, but you can compensate by adding a little liquid mesquite smoke if you wish. It's potent stuff, only use a few drops! Then taste it, and carefully add a little more until it tastes right.
For dried hot chilies, you can use California chilie (mild), New Mexico chilie (medium hot), or Thai chilie (very hot). You can find these dried hot chilies and the dried Pasilla chilie pods you need in the Mexican section of most supermarkets.
Chipotle chilies are ripe red jalapenos that have been dried & smoked over a mesquite fire, then canned in adobo sauce, a spicy tomato-based sauce. They are medium hot, and have a intense, pungent, smoky flavor. You will find them in the Mexican foods section in small cans (the exception to the 'no canned chilies' rule).
----------
Making Your Chili Powder:
One of the real secrets to good Texas-style chili is making your own chili powder, instead of using that vile garbage in a can or bottle. The flavor of the freshly toasted cumin seeds is vital. First, get a small food processor or coffee bean grinder with spinning blades. If you use a coffee bean grinder, your coffee will taste odd for a while. I keep a seperate coffee grinder just to grind spices.
Next, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the cumin seed in the center of a pie pan or cookie sheet, together but not piled up. Put about half a teaspoon of cooking oil on them. Put it on the center rack of the oven for a few minutes, until the seeds are toasted brown. then remove. Watch them carefully, they toast quickly.
Shred up the dried pasilla pod and place it in the food processor. If you use a coffee grinder, you'll probably need to do this in two or three batches. Add the toasted cumin seeds, the oregano and the dried hot chilies. I like it very hot, so I use 6-10 Thai chilies. California & New Mexico dried chilies are larger, so use fewer, or if you're a real wimp, omit the hot dried chilies altogether. Process the ingredients into a coarse powder. This is your fresh, homemade chili powder. Use 2 to 3 tablespoons for one pot of chili.
----------
Spike Seasoning
I put this all-purpose seasoning mix on everything. You can find it at health food stores, or in supermarkets in the diet, health food or spices section. Frequently, you can buy it in bulk in the bulk foods section. Try it on meats & veggies, stews, soups, etc., and you will be hooked.
----------
The Beer:
You are looking for a rich, smooth, full-bodied dark beer that isn't bitter. I like Deschuttes Black Butte Porter, but Guiness or any other beer that fits the bill is great as well.
----------
Making Your Chili
Heat a large cast-iron Dutch oven on the stovetop on medium heat. When it's hot, toss in part of the diced bacon. Cook the bacon, stirring constantly, until browned, and remove the cooked bacon, leaving the hot grease. Increase the heat to high and add part of the cubed beef. Shake a generous dose of Spike seasoning over it and brown it quickly to a dark brown color (but it should remain a bit rare inside). Stir regularly, but not constantly. You will have to do this in batches. Don't crowd the pan. When done, remove from the pot and do another batch until it's all done.
If you're using tomatoes (that's a hanging offense in Texas, tomatoes in chili), boil a large pot of water and have a large bowl of icewater ready. Put the tomates in the boiling water for thirty seconds, then immediately remove them and put them in the icewater. Let them sit for five minutes. This will loosen the skin. Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes.
Now reduce the heat on your Dutch oven to medium low and toss in all the onions with a little cooking oil. Brown them until they're golden brown around the edges. Then, add back the beef & bacon, and all the other ingredients into the pot, EXCEPT the salt, pepper and corn flour. Add another shake of Spike. Cover and cook on very low heat for at least two hours, until the flavors blend and the meat is tender. A half-hour before it's done, add a couple teaspoons of corn flour as necessary to thicken. It's even better if you cook the chili for an hour or two, and put it in the refrigerator all night to blend the flavors (that gives you a chance to skim off the fat), then finish cooking it the next day. If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can brown everything in a large skillet, deglaze the skillet with the beer, then add it all to a large pot or crock pot slow cooker to cook the chili.
Serve topped with fresh chopped cilantro, and hot corn tortillas & pinto, black and/or kidney beans and a green salad on the side. If you want, you can also top your bowl of chili with shredded sweet onions, diced fresh tomatoes & grated mild cheddar, jack or cojack cheese.
Another way to serve it is my Chili Tank. In a giant-size ceramic coffee mug, put a layer of cooked rice in the bottom, then a layer of beans, then a layer of chili, then top with cilantro, grated cheese, diced tomatoes & chopped green or shredded sweet onions. You can use white rice or Spanish-style rice with this dish, and any kind of beans you like. My favorite is white rice with black beans.
If you're on a low-fat diet, omit the bacon, add the onions raw, and brown the meat in cooking oil, draining the beef in a strainer and pouring out the fat in the bottom of the pot before making the chili.
----------
About Chili:
Any Texan will tell you that that slop made with ground mystery meat, tomatoes and beans just isn't even close to being real chili. That's actually midwestern-style chili. Add allspice & cinnamon to it and serve it over spagetti, and you've got Cincinnati chili, usually topped with canelli beans, diced onions and/or grated cheese (that's 'five-way' chili). In health nazi circles, turkey & vegitarian chili are popular. The Mexicans are severely offended by chili, declaring it to be a disgusting, inedible, overspiced American dish that's just a cheap ripoff of Mexican chili colorado.
Chili evolved as a survival trail food for those living in the outdoors, mainly by cow hands. Dried beef, a chunk of bacon fat, dried onions, occasionally dried tomatoes, other dried spices and fresh sage leaves were cooked in a pot to make a savory stew. Cowboys spiced it up with a handful of the small, but very hot pequin peppers that grow wild in the southwest. Thus chili was born. Today, Texas-style chili is made with whole beef or venison (not ground), NO beans and NO tomatoes. The beans are served on the side. In chili cookoffs, bizarre special ingredents such as cigar ashes, chocolate, beetles, buffalo chips, and other things you just don't want to know about go into recipes that are generations-old closely held family secrets.
Chili is suprisingly nutritious and healthy. The chilies are loaded with vitamin C and beta carotene, and they cleanse the blood and pores, lower blood pressure, and help fight certain intestinal parasites (if the chili is hot enough). The onions & garlic fight bacterial infections and help prevent heart disease. The meat if full of vitamins and minerals.
But the main value of chili is that it's just good, down home American comfort food.
Ingredients:
2-1/2 lbs. lean beef chuck roast, cut into ~ 3/8" cubes
1/4 lbs. thick-cut bacon, diced
1 qt. beef stock
3 large yellow onions, diced
1-1/2 lbs. ripe tomatoes (optional; I don't use them)
1 12 oz. bottle dark beer
1 lbs. fresh peppers
6 cloves garlic, diced fine
3 Tblsp. soy sauce
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 dried pasilla chilie pod
a few dried hot chilies
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano leaves
1 tsp. epizote` (you can find it at Mexican markets)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
Spike seasoning
liquid mesquite smoke (optional)
cooking oil
corn flour (aka masa)
salt & black pepper
----------
About Chilie Peppers:
WARNING: Chilies should be handled with rubber kitchen gloves at all times, and wash them before you try to take them off. Don't touch your face or other sensitive areas of your body with the gloves, or with your hands if you touch chilies. The vapors given off by fresh chilies when you roast or cut them, and any chilies when you cook with them is like tear gas, so work with chilies in a well-ventilated area. A fan on low to blow away the fumes helps when you're cutting or handling them.
For fresh chilies, California or Anahiem chilies are the mildest. They're the mild 'green chilies' you find in the can. Pasilla chilies are a bit hotter, but not much. Ancho chilies are a little hotter (but still mild), and have a firmer flesh. Yellow and jalepeno chilies are about medium hot. Habanero and Scotch Bonnet peppers are the hottest known to man, and are pure chemical warfare. They are only to add heat. BE CAREFUL WITH HABANEROS AND SCOTCH BONNET PEPPERS! DO NOT EAT THEM! They can and will actually blister the inside your mouth.
For the best flavor, use a mix of fresh chilies. I like a mix of ancho, yellow, ripe red jalapenos and habaneros, but then I like it super hot. You can adjust the mix of hotter & milder peppers to control the heat. Keep in mind that all fresh peppers vary greatly in heat, so the same variety may be hotter or milder next time. Be brave, and taste a tiny piece to see what you're dealing with. DO NOT USE CANNED CHILIES! They suck.
For the best flavor, fire roast your own fresh chilies (except the habaneros or Scotch Bonnets; just finely dice them raw). This is best done on a hot, covered barbeque, with wood smoke from a small perforated foil packet of mesquite chips placed directly on the coals off to the side. Throw the fresh chilies on the grll, and leave them to cook until the skin is blackened and blistering. Turn them, and repeat until cooked on all sides. When done, immediately place the roasted chilies in a gallon-size plastic food storage bag and seal, leaving them to steam from their own heat for ~ 15 minutes. Remove them from the bag and rub the skin off with gloves, and cut out the top & core attached to it, and open the chilie and remove the seeds. DON'T WASH THEM OR RUN WATER OVER THEM! You will wash away much of the flavor. You can also to this over a gas burner or with a propane torch, holding the chilies with tongs. Of course, you don't get the natural smoke flavor that way, but you can compensate by adding a little liquid mesquite smoke if you wish. It's potent stuff, only use a few drops! Then taste it, and carefully add a little more until it tastes right.
For dried hot chilies, you can use California chilie (mild), New Mexico chilie (medium hot), or Thai chilie (very hot). You can find these dried hot chilies and the dried Pasilla chilie pods you need in the Mexican section of most supermarkets.
Chipotle chilies are ripe red jalapenos that have been dried & smoked over a mesquite fire, then canned in adobo sauce, a spicy tomato-based sauce. They are medium hot, and have a intense, pungent, smoky flavor. You will find them in the Mexican foods section in small cans (the exception to the 'no canned chilies' rule).
----------
Making Your Chili Powder:
One of the real secrets to good Texas-style chili is making your own chili powder, instead of using that vile garbage in a can or bottle. The flavor of the freshly toasted cumin seeds is vital. First, get a small food processor or coffee bean grinder with spinning blades. If you use a coffee bean grinder, your coffee will taste odd for a while. I keep a seperate coffee grinder just to grind spices.
Next, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the cumin seed in the center of a pie pan or cookie sheet, together but not piled up. Put about half a teaspoon of cooking oil on them. Put it on the center rack of the oven for a few minutes, until the seeds are toasted brown. then remove. Watch them carefully, they toast quickly.
Shred up the dried pasilla pod and place it in the food processor. If you use a coffee grinder, you'll probably need to do this in two or three batches. Add the toasted cumin seeds, the oregano and the dried hot chilies. I like it very hot, so I use 6-10 Thai chilies. California & New Mexico dried chilies are larger, so use fewer, or if you're a real wimp, omit the hot dried chilies altogether. Process the ingredients into a coarse powder. This is your fresh, homemade chili powder. Use 2 to 3 tablespoons for one pot of chili.
----------
Spike Seasoning
I put this all-purpose seasoning mix on everything. You can find it at health food stores, or in supermarkets in the diet, health food or spices section. Frequently, you can buy it in bulk in the bulk foods section. Try it on meats & veggies, stews, soups, etc., and you will be hooked.
----------
The Beer:
You are looking for a rich, smooth, full-bodied dark beer that isn't bitter. I like Deschuttes Black Butte Porter, but Guiness or any other beer that fits the bill is great as well.
----------
Making Your Chili
Heat a large cast-iron Dutch oven on the stovetop on medium heat. When it's hot, toss in part of the diced bacon. Cook the bacon, stirring constantly, until browned, and remove the cooked bacon, leaving the hot grease. Increase the heat to high and add part of the cubed beef. Shake a generous dose of Spike seasoning over it and brown it quickly to a dark brown color (but it should remain a bit rare inside). Stir regularly, but not constantly. You will have to do this in batches. Don't crowd the pan. When done, remove from the pot and do another batch until it's all done.
If you're using tomatoes (that's a hanging offense in Texas, tomatoes in chili), boil a large pot of water and have a large bowl of icewater ready. Put the tomates in the boiling water for thirty seconds, then immediately remove them and put them in the icewater. Let them sit for five minutes. This will loosen the skin. Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes.
Now reduce the heat on your Dutch oven to medium low and toss in all the onions with a little cooking oil. Brown them until they're golden brown around the edges. Then, add back the beef & bacon, and all the other ingredients into the pot, EXCEPT the salt, pepper and corn flour. Add another shake of Spike. Cover and cook on very low heat for at least two hours, until the flavors blend and the meat is tender. A half-hour before it's done, add a couple teaspoons of corn flour as necessary to thicken. It's even better if you cook the chili for an hour or two, and put it in the refrigerator all night to blend the flavors (that gives you a chance to skim off the fat), then finish cooking it the next day. If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can brown everything in a large skillet, deglaze the skillet with the beer, then add it all to a large pot or crock pot slow cooker to cook the chili.
Serve topped with fresh chopped cilantro, and hot corn tortillas & pinto, black and/or kidney beans and a green salad on the side. If you want, you can also top your bowl of chili with shredded sweet onions, diced fresh tomatoes & grated mild cheddar, jack or cojack cheese.
Another way to serve it is my Chili Tank. In a giant-size ceramic coffee mug, put a layer of cooked rice in the bottom, then a layer of beans, then a layer of chili, then top with cilantro, grated cheese, diced tomatoes & chopped green or shredded sweet onions. You can use white rice or Spanish-style rice with this dish, and any kind of beans you like. My favorite is white rice with black beans.
If you're on a low-fat diet, omit the bacon, add the onions raw, and brown the meat in cooking oil, draining the beef in a strainer and pouring out the fat in the bottom of the pot before making the chili.
----------
About Chili:
Any Texan will tell you that that slop made with ground mystery meat, tomatoes and beans just isn't even close to being real chili. That's actually midwestern-style chili. Add allspice & cinnamon to it and serve it over spagetti, and you've got Cincinnati chili, usually topped with canelli beans, diced onions and/or grated cheese (that's 'five-way' chili). In health nazi circles, turkey & vegitarian chili are popular. The Mexicans are severely offended by chili, declaring it to be a disgusting, inedible, overspiced American dish that's just a cheap ripoff of Mexican chili colorado.
Chili evolved as a survival trail food for those living in the outdoors, mainly by cow hands. Dried beef, a chunk of bacon fat, dried onions, occasionally dried tomatoes, other dried spices and fresh sage leaves were cooked in a pot to make a savory stew. Cowboys spiced it up with a handful of the small, but very hot pequin peppers that grow wild in the southwest. Thus chili was born. Today, Texas-style chili is made with whole beef or venison (not ground), NO beans and NO tomatoes. The beans are served on the side. In chili cookoffs, bizarre special ingredents such as cigar ashes, chocolate, beetles, buffalo chips, and other things you just don't want to know about go into recipes that are generations-old closely held family secrets.
Chili is suprisingly nutritious and healthy. The chilies are loaded with vitamin C and beta carotene, and they cleanse the blood and pores, lower blood pressure, and help fight certain intestinal parasites (if the chili is hot enough). The onions & garlic fight bacterial infections and help prevent heart disease. The meat if full of vitamins and minerals.
But the main value of chili is that it's just good, down home American comfort food.
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