UPDATE: Chili served up with all the fixin's...
After an hour and half of simmering on the stove, with gentle stirs every once in a while, and requisite tastes for seasoning, the Texas Chili should be...dope. That's some dope Texas Chili - beefy, beanless, spicy chili.
Here's the secret, though, to what truly makes the chili turbo awesome. Make it the night before you plan to serve it. I have no idea about the chemistry involved with letting it sit overnight, but for some reason, Texas Chili tastes about one bazillion times better the day after you make it.
Let it cool on the stove top, then cover it and stick it in the refirgerator until tomorrow.
Then I'll show you how to dress your Texas Chili up for Debutante Ball.
Part 4: Simmer Down!
Once all of the meat has been browned, remove it to a separate plate. It's a wee bit annoying to have to do this, but it's one plate.
Add the 2 chopped onions, chopped garlic and jalapeno peppers to what is presumably the rendered beef fat. If you have drained off the beef fat, use about 2 Tbsp olive oil, health-nut. Cook the vegetables over medium low heat until the onions are translucent and tender, which takes only a few minutes.
Add the browned beef back into the pot, dump in about half the chili powder to start, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Be careful on the salt, because if you plan to use canned beef broth, it might be salty already. Stir to combine, then add the beef broth and canned tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and let that pot "of red" burble down for about an hour and a half, giving it a stir every once in a while, tasting, and adding more chili powder, salt, and pepper as needed
Part 3: Brown the Beef
Some people are of the belief that the beef must be dredged in flour before browning. Evidently, this helps to create a "crustiness" on the beef and will serve to thicken the chili later. Blasphemy! I know I said that there are no rules in chili, except for the one rule about diced steak and the other rule about no fillers. Flour, to me, counts as a filler.
Simply salt and pepper the diced beef and brown over medium heat in the pot you plan to use to cook the chili. You can add oil first to brown the meat, but even though the meat is lean, it does have some fat, which will be enough to brown the meat.
You can drain off the rendered fat once you're done browning, but I never bother. The fat tastes good.
Part 2: Prepping Everything Else
Before browning the beef, it's a good idea to get all the other ingredients for Texas Chili ready to dump into the pot at once. I am notorious for prepping nothing in advance, and simply mad-dash chopping vegetables, grabbing spices out of the cabinet and opening them with *gasp!* greasy hands.
The thing to achieve here is vegetables that are chopped smaller than the beef so that they almost melt into the chili's "liquid" before the end of cooking. I used 2 large red onions because those are what I already had. Otherwise, use regular onions since they are stronger.
My recipe says to use 8-10 cloves of garlic that are finely minced, but really, my garlic cloves are always enormous, so if you want to use more than 8-10, by all means, do it. If I hadn't run out of garlic, I probably would have used a whole damn bulb.
Now a lot of recipes call for fresh jalapenos or serrano chiles. Whatever. I prefer the pickled jalapenos because I'm lazy. They've already got a bit of acid and salt from the pickling brine they were in, so I don't have to worry about either of those elements later.
As far as spices go, have about 1 c. of chili powder ready (ground chiles, ground red pepper and ground oregano, in your preferred ratio) as well as 4-5 Tbsp. cumin, more if your chili powder doesn't include it.
Part 1: Dicing Beef
Last week, Sarah Gilbert showed us how she sniffed out the secret of Nick's Coney Island Chili. I'm no food sleuth, but I do love chili, and was motivated to make my Texas Chili.
Obviously, there are no "rules" in chili. I think chili started as a big old pot of "stuff" - whatever meat and vegetables were around, tossed into a pot and cooked until the cows came home. However, there are a few things that make a Texas Chili, well, Texas. It uses diced steak or other cut of meat, not ground beef; it's fairly spicy, and there are absolutely no beans. None. Never. Otherwise it's just plain old chili.
This isn't a giant pot of chili - just enough for a few friends. I'm starting my chili with about 2 lbs. lean chuck, diced. The rest of the ingredients are:
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 8-10 cloves finely minced garlic
- a handful of jalapenos, chopped
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 15 oz. can plum tomatoes, crushed or chopped
- ground cumin
- your favorite chili powder (which probably already has cumin)
- salt/pepper
That's it. Once the beef is prepped, we're off to San Antonio...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
2-06-2006 @ 1:56AM
juh said...
that looks sooo good. i'm going to make that this week. i'm used to the suburban chili with kidney beans. but i think that that counts as an actual wonderful entre. maybe a yankee chili, or crybaby sissy brat chili. i don't know.
thanks sarah
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2-09-2006 @ 2:11PM
Edward Bennett said...
The chilli looks delicious, even though the recipe is backwards. (the 4th step starts the recipe) but I figured it out. Thanks
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2-09-2006 @ 2:15PM
LORI said...
THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR CHILI RECIPE.IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO TRY NEW INTERESTING MEALS.IT LOOKS REAALY GOOD.I TOO,HAVE ALWAYS MADE MINE WITH KIDNEY BEANS.I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THIS ONE.THANKS,LORI
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2-09-2006 @ 2:25PM
Sherree said...
I'm from Texas, Live in Texas and that is not Texas Chili. That's sounds like a big pot of Dog Slop.
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2-09-2006 @ 2:32PM
sarah said...
sherree, would you care to recommend how it might be improved? i'm always open to suggestions.
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2-09-2006 @ 2:43PM
Jamie said...
I tend to agree with Sheree... never, never put tomatoes in chili! And chopped steak? Nope. Course ground hamburger (you need some of that fat) and, if you're lucky, some ground venison, but it's fine without it. Brown meat, onions (not red) garlic all together and then drain off fat. Add your chili spices (Morton's Chili Blend if you can find it) and enough water to cover. Strong coffee (about a cup or so) helps make a deep, brown base. And... to top it off try my 84 year old rancher stepfather's touch... about a 1/4 cup of vinegar! Really! Try it!
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2-09-2006 @ 2:44PM
Don Wilmarth said...
Texas is a big state, so there's room for differences of opinion. Plum tomatoes? Pickled Jalapenos? Tomato sauce is tolerable, if you're in a hurry; but pickled jalpenos belong on a nacho, not in chili. Beef broth sounds good. Masa harina (the fine cornmeal used to make tortillas) is the accepted "tightener" in Texas Chili. I'd say the recipe gets a "C+" as in comestible.
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2-09-2006 @ 2:45PM
Susan said...
The reason that chilli and stew and such things always taste better the next day is because it gives all the flavours time to absorb into each other
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2-09-2006 @ 2:46PM
Reverend Bill said...
I Lived in Texas for 6 years and my mom and dad were both raised in Texas. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with your Chili. You are right there are no "RULES" to chili. Sherree is just a very rude person who probably wouldn't know good chili if it hit her on the tounge! Enjoy your chili!
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2-09-2006 @ 2:50PM
Reverend Bill said...
Sherree is rude. There is no need to refer to someone's recipe as "dog slop". Everybody has their favorite recipe. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it, but there is no need for rudeness. Enjoy your Chili!
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2-09-2006 @ 2:53PM
Dave Cathers said...
Roast is for purists, but hamburger works well too. I like mine with beans, specifically MexiBeans, whose broth adds flavor. I dislike tomatoes (too wet,) but do like chopped green pepper as well as the heat (it makes it sweeter.) I also use plenty of cayenne and red peppers to scare the faint-of-heart. Hot = good. Not for the average Easterner or GDY.
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2-09-2006 @ 2:53PM
Larry said...
I am nealy 70 and grew up in Texas, I am currently out of state in an aid to underdeveloped states program. That sounds very similar to the stuff momma made and I still make. Everyone loves it. Thanks for sharing. Maybe we can convert some of the beanies to the real stuff.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:07PM
Leslie said...
HEY, some folks on the East Coast like HOT things, too! I make my chili with both tomatoes AND beans, but not kidney beans. There is something in a can called "hot chili beans" and that's what I use. Mine's QUICK and EASY, and tastes good either fresh or overnighted in the fridge. Serve with Jiffy Cornbread, and you will LOVE it!
1 lb. ground beef 80/20, browned in MAJOR garlic and some olive oil, worcestershire sauce (a couple of tbsps each)
1 pkg Chili-O seasoning or hot chili seasoning your choice
1 can stewed tomatoes broken up with spatula
1 can hot chili beans, undrained
1/2 sweet onion cut in 16ths
1 tbsp hot sauce (Tabasco)
Chili powder to taste (I sprinkle it heavily on top of the browned meat), and a dash of cumin
Garlic Pepper (or fresh ground black)
Cook over med heat for about 20 minutes, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes or until onions are done.
Cook some elbow macaroni (instead of rice), and serve over that, with a sprinkling of Mexican shredded cheese (from the dairy case!).
YUMMMM!! Doesn't matter where you're from, you will like this, and it is fast and easy for a quick dinner when company shows up unexpected.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:10PM
Kim said...
I am also from Texas... born and raised and I DO put tomatoes in my chili (which has won contests by the way). As far as the type of meat, many DO use some sort of beef in theirs but I prefer ground beef and no, I do not use beans. To me, no beans is more of the "Texas" flare.. not the meat. I don't really think it matters.. but no need to post rude comments just because their recipe is not what you would follow. We are all adults, hopefully.. let's act like one.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:16PM
Matt said...
I am a yankee, and for the most part have only had yankee chili. This recipe looks delicious, I'll have to give the taste of the south a definite test drive.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:17PM
Sherri said...
That recipe is VERY similar to my late mother's blue ribbon chili. She was born and raised in Texas (as was I) and often entered and won several chili cook-offs with her recipe. Years after her death, I had always wondered about Mom's chili and what had made it so great. Thinking it was merely a long-lost legacy, my sister surprised me one day by mailing me Mom's actual hand-written copies of her chili recipe. I have since made it several times and almost have it memorized. My Yankee husband just loves it but gets teary-eyed if I put "too much" jalapeno in it. (Our 5 year-old loves it and never complains). So without trying this recipe, I'm sure it's great. It's so close to my dear mother's.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:18PM
Kelly -a NATIVE TEXAN - NACOGDOCHES said...
THAT IS REAL "DOWNHOME" TexasCHILE.red and thick, juice is for sissy and Nontexans.. I WANT A BOWL (with cornbread) SO I CAN SET BACK AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE FOLKS IN PARKCITY,UTAH WHERE I LIVE NOW HAVE "noclue" what chile is,lookslike or taste like. homesick for REAL stuff. god bless texas and its kinfolks...where ever they live.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:19PM
Gretchen said...
Sherree, as a native Texan myself, I find your classless comments to be an embarrassment. I'd love to hear your version of "Texas" chili - I'm sure it's won many of your trailer park cook offs.
Sarah, your recipe sounds wonderful. I wouldn't change a thing.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:21PM
Linda said...
This recipe looks great, not at all like dog slop!!!! I'm going to make it for my family, I know they will love it. Oh yeah, and never speak badly about someones cooking because it all comes from love.
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2-09-2006 @ 3:21PM
Ramona said...
This recipe is basically the same as the one I use (and I am a TEXAN). However, I don't eat meat("Let those cute critters live", is my motto!), and I cook a big pot of pinto beans to replace the meat. I totally agree on making it a day ahead, to blend the ingrediants. Served with cornbread or corn chips...it's delicious-- and my carnivore friends agree!
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