A True-Texan Chili

A little delayed, but better late than ever. As you know,  Sunday my plan too make the chili was thrown off by the snow.  Thankfully, I was able to make it on Monday. I would have been one sad lady had I had to wait another day!!

Like a little kid on Christmas morning, I woke up very excited to make the chili.  I looked outside to find more snow had fallen. This meant my car was staying put and I would be walking to the Co-Op for my chilies which had eluded me the day before.  After enjoying my morning cup cups of joe (I love coffee!) I bundled up, put some music on and headed out the door.

I went directly to the bulk section and found 2 different types of dried chilies. I was really hoping for more but two is better than none. In addition, I grabbed some grass-fed chuck roast which had been pre-cut into stew cubes. True chili typically does not use ground meat. (I had bought some ground beef the day before at QFC but used it up the night before).  After checking out, and spending $50, (I clearly bought some other items) I walked back home with my backpack full. I could totally feel my Crossfit workout from the day before - Overhead Squats!




I walked in the door and got to work!

 Just had to show you the chilies I finally got!

Left, chipotle (smokey). Right, ancho (rich and fruity). 

Bottom, red anaheim flakes (sweet and fresh).

 After removing the stems, I heated the chilies on my cast iron skillet for a couple of minutes. (I realized I should have done this on a dry skillet, oh well!)

 Next I added the chillies to a bowl along with some raisins (to add a little sweetness).  I covered it with 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken brother and allowed to soak while I prepared the meat. 

While chilies soaked, I browned the meat and set it on the side. I browned the meat in 3 batches. 

I then sautéed up some onions, a little garlic and returned the meat to the skillet.   I quickly realized I needed to transfer this to a larger pot before adding my liquid.  Once it was in a larger pot I added the water and coffee and turned on high to bring to a boil. (I got a little excited at this point and forgot to take pictures!) While it was coming to a boil I drained my soaking chilies/raisins, threw them in the VitaMix (I'm in love) with a enough water and a little beef broth to cover and processed until smooth. I also added 1/2 tsp of cocoa powder while in the VitaMix.

I added the chili puree and dry spices to the meat. Bring to a boil and simmer for a long time. :)   I simmered mine for FIVE hours before eating it!!! A few hours in I decided that I would add about half of a yam, chopped into cubes. Yams are good in everything!

While the chili simmered away I whipped up these little Paleo "corn" muffins.  

I also got a little workout in too.  oh, how I love multitasking!

 yum!

hmm...did I like it? YES!

I ate it with some fresh squeezed limes and mashed avocado - 

they really complemented the flavors of the chili.   

(I really enjoyed the addition of the yams.)

*These pictures were taken with my fabulous iPhone. It does a nice job, but I really need to use my real digital camera from now on! :-)

Leah's True-Texan Chili (with a little yam)

• 6-8 dried chilies, variety (anchos, pasilla, costeñas, guajillos, chiles de arbol)
• 1 tablespoon  red anaheim pepper flakes
• 1/4 C raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, olive oil or butter (I use coconut oil)
• 1.5-2 pounds chuck roast or stew meat in 1/4 - 1/2 " cubes. (I used pre-cut cubed stew meat)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee
• 2 cups water
• 1-2 cups beef or chicken broth (if you don't have any just use more water)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 yam, cubed (optional) 

• 2-4 tablespoons masa hairna/corn meal (optional - can be use for thickening chili, if desired)

• lime wedges
• mashed avocado

• Cornbread of your choice. I used this recipe - Paleo "Corn" Muffins (optional)

Method:

1. Remove stems from chilies.  Heat on a dry skillet for a few minutes on each side. Remove and add chilies to bowl along with raisins dried pepper flakes. Cover with water and/or broth. Let soak for at least 30 minutes. 

2.  Heat oil in skillet or dutch oven and brown meat - you will most likely have to do this in batches. Set browned meat aside.

3. Add onions to skillet and cook until translucent.  Add garlic and cook for one minute before adding the beef back in. 

4. If you are not using a dutch oven, you may need to transfer everything into a larger pot. (you could also saute everything in the pot to begin with.)

5. Add cinnamon stick, coffee, broth and water to pot. There should be enough liquid in the pot to cover the meat. Turn on high and bring the it to a boil. (I used 1-1/3c water and 1/2c coffee.)

6. While beef and liquid come to a boil, drain chilies and rinse under water for 10-15 seconds.  Place chilies in blend, food processor or bowl (if using immersion blender).  Add 1/2 teaspoon of cocoa powder and enough liquid of your choice to cover the chilies and process until smooth. Stir chili puree into the chili pot!

7. When chili begins to boil turn heat down to low and simmer for 3-5 hours (or longer) with the lid slightly cracked. Stir occasionally and check every so often for flavor, adding dry spices to taste (cumin, oregano, cocoa powder). About 1.5 hours before it was done I added the cubed yam.

8. Serve with limes, avocado and corn bread. Enjoy!

*If it isn't thick enough you can 1/4-1/2 cup of the broth from the chili and add 1-2 tablespoons of masa harina or corn meal. This acts a lot like cornstarch.  

A few changes I will make next time

• Use more than two types of chilies! In doing my chili research, I learned that the key to great chili is having a variety of chilies, hence why I wouldn't settle for only one on my first attempt to make chili. I stumbled upon a great article, "The Food Lab: Real Texas Chili Con Carne." It was a great resource about chili and had a nice chili education section. (I never new there were so many different types of chilies with different flavors!)

• cut the pieces of meat larger, especially if I am going to let it stew for so long. I cut them around 1/4", next time I will make them 1/2".

• use more coffee

All in all, I am pretty pleased with myself!  My first shot at a true-texan chili turned out pretty well. I have decided I now have another goal in year 28:  master a chili recipe. 

Do you have any recipes you want to master?!

Leave a comment below.