Oakwood Feed Store Chili
Submitted by gail roman
Oakwood Feed Store chili with three meats: cubed beef chuck, ground beef, and chopped pork, plus bacon. A no-bean Texas-style chili loaded with ancho, jalapeno, and cumin that improves overnight.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minThis is a serious, competition-grade chili with nearly eight pounds of meat and zero beans. Cubed beef chuck, lean ground beef, chopped pork loin, and a full pound of bacon make this one of the heartiest pots of chili you’ll ever stir. It’s Texas-style through and through.
The bacon gets fried first, and that rendered fat becomes the cooking medium for everything else. The chuck and pork brown in the bacon drippings in a cast iron skillet while the onions soften in the pot. Then everything comes together with layers of heat: ground ancho chiles for earthy warmth, fresh jalapenos for sharp bite, hot chili peppers for lingering fire, and hot sauce for vinegary punch.
The recipe calls for sitting in the fridge for a full 24 hours before eating. That overnight rest isn’t optional if you want the best flavor. The spices meld, the fat solidifies on top for easy removal, and the whole pot intensifies into something much deeper than what came off the stove.
Chef Tips
- Brown the meats in batches in the cast iron skillet; crowding prevents proper browning and steams the meat instead
- Cumin seeds (not ground cumin) add a more aromatic, toasty flavor; crush them slightly before adding
- The 24-hour fridge rest is what separates good chili from unforgettable chili
- Skim the solidified fat from the top before reheating for a cleaner-tasting bowl
Variations
- Skip the pork and double the beef chuck for an all-beef version
- Add a bottle of dark beer to the pot along with the stock for more depth
- Serve with cornbread instead of saltines for a Southern-style pairing
Ingredients
Directions
Fry bacon in a heavy pot until crisp and the fat is rendered.
Remove and reserve bacon.
Pour off most of the bacon fat into a heavy cast iron skillet, leaving s small amount in the pot.
Brown the meat and garlic in the skillet.
Sauté onions in the fat remaining in the pot until soft.
Add the meat, bacon, ground chilies, dried spices, the sauces, green chilies, Jalapenos, stock and tomatoes.
Simmer for two hours.
Allow the chili to sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours to give the spices a chance to intensify.
For garnishes, serve fresh chopped Jalapenos, chopped raw onions, shredded Monterey or sharp Cheddar cheese, and saltines.
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