Riata Grande Chili*

This is competition-grade Texas chili: six pounds of hand-cubed pork loin and beef brisket braised low and slow for two hours in a base of beer, tequila, soy sauce, and enough heat to make your eyes water. No beans. No apologies.

The liquid base is where this chili gets wild. A full bottle of beer, a quarter cup of tequila, half a cup of soy sauce, and three tablespoons of Tabasco all go in before the meat. The soy sauce adds a deep umami backbone that most chili recipes completely miss, and the tequila’s agave sweetness mellows the heat just enough to keep it drinkable.

Four tablespoons of freshly ground cumin, added in three stages across the two-hour cook, builds layers of earthy warmth that keep developing. First dose goes in with the meat, second after the masa harina, third in the final five minutes. That late addition of cumin hits your nose before it hits your tongue.

Masa harina stirred in at the halfway point thickens the liquid into a sauce with real body, the same corn flour that makes tortillas gives the chili a slightly silky, substantial texture.

Ten jalapenos total, two chopped and eight whole and gashed, deliver heat from two directions: dispersed through the sauce and concentrated in those whole peppers that release their fire slowly during the simmer.

Chef Tips

• Cube the meat by hand into ¼-inch pieces. Ground meat gives you a completely different, inferior chili. This is about chunks of tender brisket and pork
• If the liquid gets too low during cooking, add more beer, not water. Water dilutes the flavor
• Stir the masa harina in slowly to avoid lumps. It thickens fast
• Remove the whole jalapenos before serving unless you want someone to accidentally bite into a bomb

Variations

• All beef: Use 6 pounds of beef brisket and skip the pork for a pure Texas red
• Smoked version: Use smoked brisket trimmings for a deep, barbecue-flavored chili
• Milder heat: Cut the cayenne flakes in half and reduce to 4 whole jalapenos for a tamer bowl