I was BS'ing with some guys on *another site* about how the cold snap signals the start of Chili Season- so I decided to post my recipe for Chili with Beans here, too. I realize that to many southerners, particularly Texans, if it has beans it ain't really chili, but in my neck of the woods, most people prefer it with beans. I make it both ways, myself, depending upon what I'm in the mood for. The following is the one I whipped up for the last restaurant I ran:
Prairie Fire Chili with BeansServings: Makes a Big Ass Batch (ie better use an 8-10 qt heavy stockpot)
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of steak (round, chuck, or sirloin- whatever's on hand)
Optional: Pork loin is great in place of steak and is a bit cheaper.2 lbs sausage (from plain ol' Jimmy Dean to Italian or Chorizo)
3 lbs ground chuck (lean & coarse ground, if possible)
3 cups onions, med dice
1 cup roasted red peppers (or 1 whole red pepper, seeded & chopped)
1/2 cup diced canned japs (or about 2-3 fresh ones, seeded & chopped)- Vary with your tolerance for heat!
2 TBSP fresh minced garlic
1/4 cup chili powder (vary to taste)
1/4 cup cumin + 1 TBSP
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 tsp Worc sauce
Pepper: Feel free to vary depending upon how much heat you can take! 2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp Trappeys or Tobasco (2 TBSP if you use the Green Tobasco)
3-4 TBSP paprika (mostly for appearance- some Kitchen Bouquet is okay, too)
Cornstarch or Roux (about 4 TBSP starch + equal water OR 5 TBSP roux)
5 cups Jus (
au Jus to most people- any low salt beef broth or stock is fine)
5 x cans of diced tomatoes, drained
1 can Mrs Grimes or Bushes Chili Hot Beans (with sauce)
1 can Dark Red Kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can Pinto Beans, drained & rinsed
2 cans Black Beans, drained & rinsed
2 oz canola or other oil
OPTIONAL: 1 x 6-8 oz can tomato pasteWhen cutting the jalapenos, coat hands with oil or (better yet) wear latex or vinyl gloves. At all costs, avoid touching your eyes. Capsicum will stick to your hands despite repeated handwashings with soap!
Contact with mucous membranes will be similar to being maced. Be careful. Japs are pretty hot, so I use jars of mild to med heat peppers. A real diehard can buy hot ones or use Scotch Bonnets (many times hotter than japs).
Cut the steak into small strips or cubes, then saute in hot oil. In a separate pan, brown the burger & sausage. When the meat is about half browned, add the diced onions. Cook til the ground meat is nicely browned, then drain the grease. Add the steak to the pot.
At this point you're ready for the beef broth. Pour over the meat & turn up heat to med. Stir in the roasted red peppers, diced canned japs, fresh minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, paprika, Worc sauce & pepper. Stir vigorously till all the dry ingredients dissolve, then add the Trappeys or Tobasco. If you want to add tomato paste, do it now.
Once the spices are mixed well, add the tomatos and beans. Stir over med to high heat for about 15 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer. It's best to let it cook for at least two hours, and four is better. This will give the broth enough time to work the capsicum out of the pepper and cook the metallic taste out of the chili powder. Bear in mind it'll take about 1 & 1/2 hours for the steak or pork loin to break down and become tender.
Once the chili has simmered, it's ready to thicken. You can use either cornstarch mixed with equal parts cold water, or you can use roux. To thicken with cornstarch, give the starch & water mix a good stir, then slowly blend into the chili with a wire wisk. Roux is a cooked thickener made with equal parts oil and AP flour. To make it, heat the oil over low/med heat & stir in the flour, stirring til it's all incorporated. Continue to cook til light brown, stirring continuously. If you wish to thicken with roux, use it as you would the cornstarch, mixing in a little at a time with a wisk. In either case, bring the chili up to a boil for two minutes, stirring to keep from burning, to gelatinize all the starch. (If you thicken with roux, it's best to then reduce to a simmer for another half hour til the raw taste of flour is gone. Roux binding takes awhile, but won't break if you decide to freeze it, whereas cornstarch thickened sauces will. Hey, I never said this was as fast as opening a can of Hormel!:lol: ).
Remove from the heat & let stand a few minutes. A few serving suggestions:
Green Bay Style- ladle over spaghetti (yeah, I don't get those guys, either.
)
Chili Nachos- Fill shallow bowl with tortilla chips, toss with cheese & microwave. Cover with chili, sour cream, black olives, pickled japs & diced onions.
Chili Burger- Serve burger on two slices of toast. Add cheese & douse with chili. Top with onions o'plenty.
Chili Mac- Just like it sounds, stir hot chili into mac & cheese.
Chili cheese burrito- Like taco bell, but good. Brown about 1/4 lb of ground beef in a small pan. Drain, then add a couple ladles of chili & reduce. Stir in shredded cheddar and roll up in a tortilla.
In any event, serve with plenty of cold beer!
