Beefy Chili
Submitted by tuff2000
Beefy chili is a Texas-style chili made with fresh dried chili pod paste, ground beef, oregano, cumin, and red wine. No beans, no powder, just deep slow-simmered authentic flavor.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
3½ hrsREADY
4 hrsBeefy chili is the Texas-style chili recipe that drops the chili powder shortcut and builds flavor from whole dried chili pods blended into a fresh paste. The result is night-and-day deeper than any can or jar can deliver.
Start the chili paste while the ground beef browns. Remove the stems from six to eight dried chili pods, leave some seeds in for heat, and blend with just half a cup of warm water until it forms a thick paste. Too wet a paste will not stick to the meat properly.
The paste, oregano, cumin, and garlic get cooked into the browned beef until aromatic, then a critical step, four tablespoons of flour go in to thicken the chili and toast for a minute before the pot moves off the heat. Burnt flour means a bitter chili, so watch closely.
Tomato sauce and red wine deglaze in a separate pot, then everything combines for a long slow simmer. Three hours minimum, longer is better, the flavors strengthen with time and cumin in particular sweetens as it cooks.
Serve with cornbread or over rice, garnished with sour cream, shredded cheese, and chopped scallions.
Chef Tips
- Toast the dried chili pods in a dry skillet for 30 seconds before blending, this deepens their aroma.
- Wear gloves when handling the pods, capsaicin lingers on skin for hours.
- Adjust heat by varying how many seeds you leave in, more seeds means more fire.
- Adjust cumin and oregano at the end, slow cooking concentrates both and you can always add more.
Variations
- Use cubed chuck roast in place of ground beef for a truer Texas-style chili.
- Add a square of dark chocolate or a teaspoon of cocoa for a Mexican mole-leaning depth.
- Stir in a bottle of dark beer in place of half the red wine for a more rustic chili.
Ingredients
Directions
Brown hamburger meat in large skillet.
While browning, make chili paste. Take 6 to 8 dried chili pods, remove some seeds, leave some in for flavor. Remove stems.
Put in blender with about ½ cup warm water or so just enough to make a paste. Too wet will be difficult.
When hamburger meat is browned, drain fat. Add chili paste, oregano, cumin and garlic cloves. Add salt to taste.
Brown mixture well, Don’t burn! Add 4 tablespoons of flour. Brown this, immediately remove from heat.
In another large saucepan, add tomato sauce and red wine. Add browned mixture. Simmer, simmer, simmer(3 hours or more) you can do this in slow cooker.
Thin if necessary, salt to taste, adjust cumin and oregano as needed, thse flavors strenghten with cooking(cumin tends to add a sweet hint of taste.
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