Red Chili Nightmare
Submitted by manib
Red chili nightmare: a wild Mexican-style red chili with beef, sausage, pinto beans, almonds, sesame, chocolate, and a dozen green chiles. Mole-inspired, fiery, and not for the timid.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsThis is a chili that takes cues from mole: toasted almonds, sesame seeds, warm spices, and a square of milk chocolate stirred into a deep, meaty base of beef and sausage. A dozen green chiles and a coarse grind of pepper set the heat, and a corn tortilla breaks down in the pot to thicken the sauce, Oaxacan-style.
The beans get cooked from dry, then lightly fried in lard before joining the pot. That double treatment gives them a toasted, almost refried edge that pure boiled beans can’t match. The meat gets a heavy spice hit (star anise, coriander, fennel, cloves, cinnamon stick, paprika, cumin, oregano) browned right into the fat.
The result is complex, deeply aromatic, and genuinely hot. Not a beanery chili. Not a Texas red. Something in between, closer to a rustic Mexican stew than anything scooped over nachos.
Chef Tips
- Soak the pinto beans overnight instead of the shorter soak if you have time. Even-textured beans cook more evenly in the final simmer.
- Reserve the bean cooking liquid. It’s seasoned, slightly starchy, and builds body you won’t get from water or stock.
- Toast the whole spices (star anise, coriander, fennel) in a dry skillet for a minute before adding to release their oils. Fresh-toasted is a completely different animal from raw.
- Handle the chiles with gloves or wash hands carefully. A dozen green chiles in a single pot is not a joke.
- Taste before adjusting salt. Sausage, drippings, and tomato paste all bring sodium already.
Variations
- Swap milk chocolate for a square of dark chocolate for a deeper, less sweet mole character.
- Top with crumbled queso fresco, chopped cilantro, and lime wedges instead of the usual cheddar-and-sour-cream.
- Serve with warm corn tortillas or over rice.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the rinsed beans in a bowl, add 2 to 3 cups of water and soak.
Check the beans occasionally and add water as necessary to keep them moist.
Pour the beans and the water in which they were soaked into a heavy saucepan and add 2 to 3 more cups of water.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 45 minutes, until the beans are cooked but still firm.
Check occasionally and add water if necessary.
Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.
Melt the lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
Add the beans and lightly fry them in the lard.
Set aside.
Melt the drippings in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until it is translucent.
Combine the sausage and the beef with all the spices up.
Add this meat-and-spice mixture to the pot with the onion.
Break up any lumps with a fork and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very well browned.
Add the reserved bean-cooking liquid to the pot.
Stir in all the remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook, uncovered, for ½ hour longer.
Stir occasionally. Add water only if necessary to maintain the consistency of a chunky soup.
Taste when curiosity becomes unbearable and courage is strong.
Adjust seasonings.
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