Stirling's Texas Red Chili

[taxlady]

Ingredients
3 tblsp olive oil
1 kg course-ground beef, chuck roast, or stew meat
1 large green bell pepper
1 large yellow onion
1 medium bulb of garlic
3 heaping tblsp of chili powder
1 tblsp coarse-ground black pepper
1 tblsp ground cumin
1/2 cup flour
5 cups of water or stock
1/2 can of tomato paste
2-3 mild poblano or similar chili peppers
1 whole or 5-6 pieces of pickled jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 lime
(optional) 1/4 lb (125 grams) sharp cheddar
Preparation
1. cut the meat into 1/2 to 1 inch (1-2 cm) cubes.
2. Dice the onion, putting a small amount aside for garnish.
3. Remove the seeds, membrane, and stem from the bell pepper and discard. Dice the flesh.
4. Finely chop the garlic.
5. Pour the oil into a large stew pot or chili pot, and set on medium heat.
6. When the oil is hot, add the stew meat and brown.
7. Add in the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Mix well.
8. Add in the black pepper, cumin , and chili powder. Mix well again.
9. At this point the mixture should be starting to get thick as the spices absorb the juices from cooking the meat.
10. Slowly add in the lour stirring it in. The mixture should get vvey thick while you are doing this. I recommend using a very sturdy wooden spoon.
11. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Some of the mixture will stick to the bottom of the pan. Don't worry about it for now.
12. Slowly start adding the water or stock, and stirring to incorporate it. When about half the water/stock has been added, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to clean it. Add the rest of the water/stock.
13. Add in the tomato paste, chili pepper, and jalapeños.
14. Simmer the mixture on medium-low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 15-30 minutes to prevent burning. The is done when the meat is falling apart.
15. Add the juice of one lime and mix well, just before serving.
Serving
Serve in bowls, garnished with raw, chopped, yellow onion and/or grated cheddar cheese.

[GLC]

Sounds good. Might need more fire to put a little spring in your step. (I pick dried chilis and serranos out of the dried pepper bin and powder them whole in the blender.) And maybe some masa paste to thicken it. But at least there's none of those dang red beans people keep wanting to corrupt chili with.

[tinlizzie]

Thanks for the great-sounding chili, TL. I'm sending this recipe to my brother & his wife in TX, just in case they need a good, hearty batch for Super Bowl Sunday.

[Addie]

When I lived in Texas, I worked in a Mexican restaurant. I think I was the only one who spoke English. But they served chili with the beans always as a separate dish. You had to ask for it. They topped the bowl of chili with a large handful of shredded cheese and gave you a bunch of crackers and a salt shaker. The Mexicans would put the salt on the back of their hand, lick it off and then take a mouthful of the chili and then a bite of a cracker. I never understood the meaning of this procedure, but what did I know? I was a gringa. The bowl of chili always had a layer of floating grease on top. The chili was made by a woman called Mama Lupi. Right from Mexico.

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by tinlizzie

Thanks for the great-sounding chili, TL. I'm sending this recipe to my brother & his wife in TX, just in case they need a good, hearty batch for Super Bowl Sunday.

In Texas? Won't they have their own TNT recipe?

If you do send it, please use the current, corrected version. Okay, it was funnier with coarse-ground bees as an ingredient.

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by GLC

Sounds good. Might need more fire to put a little spring in your step. (I pick dried chilis and serranos out of the dried pepper bin and powder them whole in the blender.) And maybe some masa paste to thicken it. But at least there's none of those dang red beans people keep wanting to corrupt chili with.

I like a bit more fire, some of the time. That's why I have so many kinds of pepper sauces

I wouldn't add anything to thicken this until you see it needs thickening.

[GLC]

There are kind of two schools of thought about chili thickness. One thickens with masa flour, but not quite to the degree of guisada. The other likes to see their red colored clear fat floating. I like the free fat running around the top, but I usually thicken a bit for guests.

ADDIE: The salt is kind of an antidote to the pepper. It does work, somewhat. You just have to try it. Slugging back a shot of Tequila or mescal every few bites also helps cut the pepper oils. But I also think the taking of salt off the hand with chili also becomes something of a ritual, kind of a Mexican shibboleth, and one that hasn't been co-opted by the Anglos as the similar habit has been in the Tequila shot lick-shoot-bite ritual. (They got it wrong, anyway. It's supposed to be lick the salt, bite the lime, and then shoot, so the lime masks the rough taste of the Tequila.)

But do not depend on salt, Tequila, milk, crackers or anything else if you take on the XXX at the Texas Chili Parlor. You either got it, or you don't. If you don't, you're in hurt. I really like HOT, and it hurt, and it wasn't all good hurt.

[Timothy]

Originally Posted by GLC

There are kind of two schools of thought about chili thickness. One thickens with masa flour, but not quite to the degree of guisada. The other likes to see their red colored clear fat floating. I like the free fat running around the top, but I usually thicken a bit for guests.

ADDIE: The salt is kind of an antidote to the pepper. It does work, somewhat. You just have to try it. Slugging back a shot of Tequila or mescal every few bites also helps cut the pepper oils. But I also think the taking of salt off the hand with chili also becomes something of a ritual, kind of a Mexican shibboleth, and one that hasn't been co-opted by the Anglos as the similar habit has been in the Tequila shot lick-shoot-bite ritual. (They got it wrong, anyway. It's supposed to be lick the salt, bite the lime, and then shoot, so the lime masks the rough taste of the Tequila.)

But do not depend on salt, Tequila, milk, crackers or anything else if you take on the XXX at the Texas Chili Parlor. You either got it, or you don't. If you don't, you're in hurt. I really like HOT, and it hurt, and it wasn't all good hurt.

I like the way you think, GLC. Tequila is one of my favorite drinks. I like to make a bit of very strong salt-water with lime in it, then add my Tequila and drink it all together. That avoids all the bother and mess with slinging salt and lime chunks around and can be made by the drink.

I'm a pepperhead. You would probably love my pepper collection in the freezer. I have Bhut Jolokias, Trinadad Scorpions, South African Fataliis, Red Savinas and Datils. All grown by me.

The only smart way to put these peppers into a chili is to blend them with a quantity of liquid first, so as to distribute them in the dish. Otherwise, they're just too spicy for most people. My tolerance is pretty high.

[GLC]

Originally Posted by Timothy

I like the way you think, GLC. Tequila is one of my favorite drinks. I like to make a bit of very strong salt-water with lime in it, then add my Tequila and drink it all together. That avoids all the bother and mess with slinging salt and lime chunks around and can be made by the drink

And as the evening wears on, you avoid the embarrassment when you start missing your mouth with the lime. Kind of like this, except that he at least gets it in the right order.

Chevy Chase taking a shot in Caddyshack - YouTube

[taxlady]

I was taught: lick salt, bite lemon, drink tequila, but I prefer to have the lemon last.