it's another chili day

[bulldog1935]

the rain is ending and we'll have 24 mph N winds this afternoon

2 tbs. olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, half-onion, 2-lbs cubed chuck steak - all seared.
my mom's canned tomatoes, chili powder galore (1/3 cup), wild oregano, tsp. paprika, a touch of that, it's green, smells good,1/2 tsp. red pepper, long dashes of cholula.
Simmering for 3 hours, I'll turn it off, use paper towels to wick off the grease, add tablespoon of masa, simmer for the last 15 minutes, then I'll have some chili pie.



it's going to be 39 degrees and 93% humidity when I come in from trout fishing tomorrow.
Glad I'll have leftovers.

[jayfisher]

Ron,

That chili makes me hungry. It looks delicious for a cold end-of-winter day! Actually it looks delicious for a warm day too.

Glad to see you do chili Texas style. Nothing against the ground beef used in most kitchens up here, but for me Texas style with steak is the best! And it's good to see you're a traditional chips guy with the chili. (Some places around here are starting to serve artisan rolls with chili, which are wonderful on their own, but don't quite do it for me with chili. I do however love Indian breads with anything chili.)

Now the only thing that's missing from the picture is a drink - cola if it's lunch time, maybe Dos Equis or zinfandel if it's early dinner, of if it's late night maybe a pour of scotch or bourbon?

-Jack

[bulldog1935]

I had a buddy over last weekend and he brought the beer. He's an Italian chef so I added two more garlic cloves...
I also hit the oregano perfect - this is loose, crumbled wild oregano and as fluffed, a third cup hit it just right.
He brought a honey brown ale, which is far from my normal beer (I'm more the Stone IPA or Dogfishhead type), but the malt was a perfect complement to the chili.
We ate chili and watched Quigley Down Under - his first time to see it (he's even a shooter).
Oh, and on my recipe I left out a half-teaspoon salt, which I normally add when the searing meat makes its gravy. I cook that down until the gravy is almost gone - not to the point of scorching - before I add the canned tomatoes and the spices.

The size of my recipe is just right for two. If you're making for more, double everything.

I've made it before with round steak, but chuck is superior.
I've also made it with venison, but then also add some bacon to get renderings.
As far as cubing the meat goes, having the meat half-frozen really simplifies it. I'll cut off about 5 or 6 strips and put the bulk back in the freezer while I'm cubing those.

Chips? I dip my chili to eat it. The spoon's just there for emergencies...

[narcodog]

Do you use red beans or white?

[bulldog1935]

I cook up black beans on the side, so as not to offend Native Texans.

And I do layer them into my chili pie.
When I'm making chili for my daughter, she can't take the heat and doesn't like the beans, so I load up black beans with cholula and layer it into my chili pie.
Though I do think it's appropriate that my daughter the Native Texan doesn't like beans in her chili.
And she knows real Texas chili.

chips-cheese-beans-chili-chips-cheese-beans-chili-cheese. Still mostly chili. Dip with chips.

[FF Papa]

I make the same chili but I use ground turkey bugger and black beans. If you use turkey burger there will be NO grease.
FFP

[PaducahMichael]

I'm going off to search for my brother's recipe. He called it "Buzzard Breath" chili - another Texas red variation with - you guessed it - NO BEANS!

[JohnMD1022]

What are beans?

[eastprong]

Chiliheads should pick up a copy of Frank X. Torbert's A Bowl of Red. Many good discoveries in there including the facts that not only are beans not found in the original chili but neither are onions nor tomatoes. Also, beef suet was used to brown the meat. Most importantly, the original chili pre-dates the invention of chile powder, so chile puree was used, which makes it somewhat similar to the Mexican moles. Chile puree gives a whole different profile -- deeper and sweeter.

New World oregano (usually called "Mexican oregano") is a different beast from what we normally consider oregano, which is of Mediterranean origin. That may or may not have used in the original chili formulations, as the spice trade was well underway by the time the thing we now as chili was born. (Cumin, which also an ingredient in the original recipe, is Old World.) But Mexican oregano is better is better in chili, as BD states.

Originality aside, the best chili is the one you like. Mine is cubed tri-tip for the meat, beef stock with some tomato paste for the liquid, and chile puree (primarily ancho) not powder. Hot sauce-pickled onions and pintos on the side. But no one seems to like it besides me...

[saltydancindave]

I seem to be thinking huevos rancheros topped with chili for breakfast !

[bulldog1935]

wild oregano grows wild in my yard. I also throw it in the sidebox of my smoker.