About Texas Chili…
Since 1977 Chili con Carne has been the official State dish of Texas. What makes this chili unique from other regions is that there are no beans, and this distinction is non-negotiable. If you wish to add beans, go ahead-just don’t try to impress anyone from Texas.
Chili con Carne translates as “chili with beef.” Chili is simply a pepper based meat stew (Guisada), cooked in onions and maybe some garlic and tomato. Chili most likely originates in Northern Mexico and Southern Texas during open range cattle drives. If a steer or cow was injured and had to be put down, this is one of the dishes prepared to cook down tougher parts of the meat to make them tender.
Beans, mainly Pintos (Frijoles), are there own special thing in Texas. We love them so much that we don’t usually mix the two. I do have a recipe on the blog for Cowboy beans if you would like to try them. There is one theory that Chili con Carne originated with immigrants from the Canary Islands who ended up in San Antonio, Texas (there was a group who took up residence in San Antonio just after the civil war). One of the Canary Island (Berber) dishes from this region heavily utilizes finely ground dry cumin seeds, which is one of their signature stews. Add the indigenous chili peppers to the mix and history is made. Indeed by the late 1860 and early 1870’s the chili queens, as they were known, in San Antonio were selling versions in road side stands all over the central plaza and markets. It was not until 1893 and the Chicago Worlds Fair that San Antonio chili was introduced to the rest of the country.
This is an authentic version of that historic chili that builds the intense flavors in stages. This chili is a labor of love which I don’t make very often because it does take a bit of close monitoring to pull it off. Instead of using ground beef, I split the meat part in half using chuck steak and ground chuck to build and extra layer of umami. The key to making this chili, is to watch the fond on bottom of the heavy cast iron pot-it should never burn. Get it dark brown, yes, but not burned.
I’ve up-scaled this chili recipe with beef plate ribs (best cut of beef short ribs), venison, antelope, rattlesnake and even Alaskan moose. What makes this dish truly unique, is the variety of dry chili’s I use when making the chili powder. You don’t have to do this part, as there are several options for an acceptable commercial chili powder. For me, the perfect chili, like the perfect BBQ might only truly exist in dreams. This version of Texas chili will start you on the path to chili enlightenment. Making your own spice chili blend is one of those ways you can attempt to fly a little closer to the sun. Experiment, take notes explore the multitude of chili blends. If you find yourself in chili nirvana one day, shoot me a message and let me know how you got there. This is a dish which may never be perfected…it is difficult to say when the recipe is finished. Maybe you can unlock the mystery of the perfect bowl?
This is not mass produced canned chili. This is the real deal. The taste is vibrant and fresh.
I measure out the chuck steak because I want roughly the same amount of ground chuck. Cut the steak into 3/4 inch cubes.
Ground chuck measured out to match the chuck steak.
Combining the two different butchering of the same kind of meat changes the texture. I like having the steak cut into pieces as well as the finer ground chuck steak. The combination has more tooth appeal.
Assertively season everything going into the chili. This chili builds all of it’s great flavor in layers.
Season the ground chuck and the steak pieces the same way. I prefer to cook the steak cut cubes and the ground chuck separately, since they will cook at different rates.
Season with Masa Harina or corn flour. As it is when making stew, the flour not only helps season the dish, but will also help thicken it at the end.
Fully seasoned and corn-floured chuck steak.
Heat the lard and oil in a large, heavy iron dutch oven. *See note about lard in the recipe card section. If you do not wish to use lard, substitute your favorite oil.
You can get the onions ready while you are waiting for the pot to get hot, or the meat to cook. Clean four whole, large onions. I’m using red onions here since they have the strongest flavor (of the options in my local stores).
Dice the onions and reserve. It may seem like a lot of onions, but this cooks for a long time, so the onions will cook down. Prep the jalapeños.
To clean the jalapeños, remove the stem piece and then cut into quarters. This makes it easy to remove the seeds and pith from the jalapeño with a knife. Be careful when cutting peppers. Wash your hands immediately afterwards or wear disposable kitchen gloves to keep the capsicum oil from getting into your eyes.
The pith and seeds are where 90% of the heat from the jalapeños can be found. You can remove them all for a mild chili, or chop and place back in to make it a spicy chili.
Cleaned up and ready to chop jalapeños.
Depending on the amount of chuck steak you are using, add the meat in single layers. Do not overcrowd the seasoned meat and do not move the meat at this point. Allow the meat to cook on one side until a dark crust starts to form. You can tell the meat is about ready to turn when the blood in the meat comes to the surface of the meat cube. Check with a pair of tongs or a fork to see if a piece is ready to turn over. The idea is allow the cubes to be browned on both sides. Once the meat has cooked remove from the pot and start another batch. Do this until all the meat has been braised.
I like to keep the batches of cubed chuck steak in the mixing bowl I used when seasoning the meat. Continue doing the same process with the ground chuck meat.
This is known as the fond in french cooking. The brown bits in the bottom of the pot are where all the flavor comes from. In this recipe, it will build the fond in three layers. Chuck steak, ground chuck and the vegetables before beer is used to deglaze the pot.
Cooking the seasoned ground chuck, just like the chuck steak.
I added the just-cooked ground chuck to the reserved chuck steak.
As you can see here, the fond is getting more intense with flavor in the different layers.
Add the onions, jalapeño and minced garlic to the pot.
Season again like you did the layers of chuck meat. In addition, I like to add some Mexican oregano.
Add the diced tomato and the tomato paste. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients.
Cook the vegetables until they become soft. Since the vegetables should release some water, the fond should start to release from the bottom of the pan. After a short while, all of the juices from the vegetables and seasoning will start to cook off.
Once my vegetables were cooked, I added two Dos Equis Amber beers. You can add three if you wish, but I just wanted a hint of beer flavor. Stir the beer in and make sure all the brown bits on the bottom of the pot are now loose and free. (If you do not wish to use beer use chicken stock instead.)
Add all of the reserved meat back into the chili and bring it up to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 2 1/2 -3 hours over medium heat with the lid on. Test the cubed chuck steak for tenderness. Once it has become tender enough for you, the chili is done. Adjust seasonings if needed. Adjust thickness of the chili if needed. (See Notes in the Recipe card.)
Some people like their chili on the plain side with a few crackers.
Others prefer full fixings with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro onions and pickled jalapeños. This is a chili fit for company. I always allow people to top their own chili and make sure they have access to everything they need. Incidentally, I served (2 gallons) of this at a neighborhood get-together and there wasn’t a drop left after about 40 minutes. So, if you are hosting, you might want to pull off enough for yourself, before the first guests arrive.
Super Bowl Chili
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chuck steak
- 1 1/2 lbs chuck, ground
- 1 tbsp black pepper, coarse grind
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp chili powder, ground
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp cumin, ground
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 cup masa harina, split in 2. Use a 1/4 cup for the chuck steak and 1/4 cup for the ground chuck
- 1/2 cup oil, avocado or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup lard or manteca
- 4 large red onion, diced
- 5 whole jalapeño peppers, seeded, cored and pith removed, sliced thin can substitute Hatch Sandia chili or Serrano
- 6 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tsp oregano Preferably Mexican oregano
- 1 6oz tomato paste
- 1 20 oz tomato, chopped
- 2-12oz bottles beer, Dos Equis Amber or Shiner Bock (optional) if not using add the equivalent in stock
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped added at the end, before service
Instructions
- Preheat a large dutch oven or other type of heavy large pot over medium high heat. Add the oil and lard and bring up to temperature. Reduce heat to lowest setting and and prepare the meat(s).
- Mix the black pepper, salt, cumin, onion powder, chili powder and cinnamon together and reserve in a bowl. Use 1/3 of the southwestern spice mixture on the chuck steak, 1/3 on the ground chuck and 1/3 on the vegetables when the recipe calls for it.
- Roughly measure out the chuck steak. If you are a little over, that's okay. Cut the chuck steak into 3/4-inch cubes. Discard excess fat or cartilage while prepping.
- Roughly measure out the ground chuck to match a 50:50 ratio with the chuck steak.
- In a large mixing bowl assertively season the chuck steak separately from the ground chuck. You will cook the meat(s) separately to build layers of flavor or fond. Once the chuck steak is seasoned, add half of the masa harina and toss to coat well.
- Bring the temperature of the prepared dutch oven or large pot back up to medium-high heat. Add the chuck steak in a single layer across the bottom of the pot and leave without stirring to brown the meat. Cook the meat until you can see a brown crust has formed on the cooking side of the beef. Once it has a nice browned coating turn the meat to cook all sides. This may take a little while, but it is how you build layers of flavor. While the meat is cooking, you can prep the other ingredients to get them ready to add when it is time.
- Repeat the same process as mentioned above with the ground chuck steak. Be sure to toss with the masa harina. After all of the chuck steak has been cooked and reserved in another dish, cook all of the ground chuck in the same manner. Once all the ground chuck is cooked, remove and reserve with the chuck steak.
- Dice the onions, chilies and garlic to add once all of the meat has been cooked. Stir to incorporate and cook over the same medium-high heat. Add the seasonings with the addition of oregano, tomato paste and chopped tomato. Stir and cook for about 8 minutes, being careful not to burn. If you need to lower the heat, remove the pot from the burner and allow to cool slightly before returning to the flame or element. Cooking the vegetables and spices will help add another layer of flavor.
- Once the vegetables are just about cooked and soft, add 2-12oz bottles of amber beer. Stir to mix in while deglazing the fond from the bottom of the pot. This will release all the layered flavors built up to this point. Cook the chili for 8 minutes to allow the beer to release the alcohol and reduce to concentrate flavors. Add the meat back to the pot along with any accumulated juices.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to just to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and place a lid on the chili. Allow the chili to steep and cook like this for for 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to marry and for the chuck steak to become tender. After 1 hour check the tenderness of the chuck steak. It should be soft enough to melt in your mouth. Depending on the quality of the chuck steak this is the last thing you are looking for to determine if it is ready to eat. This might take 2-2.5 hours so plan accordingly.
- Just before service, stir in the bittersweet chocolate. Stir until it has fully melted and incorporated. The chili is now ready to eat.
Notes
- A Note about lard.