Sam Huddleston's Chili
Submitted by cgibson123
Sam Huddleston’s chili is a no-bean Texas-style chili with cubed beef, toasted cumin seed, paprika, and chili powder, thickened with cracker meal at the end. Proper bowl of red.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
90 minREADY
110 minSam Huddleston’s chili is the Texas-style bowl-of-red purists swear by: cubed beef, three big spices, no beans, no tomatoes. The flavor base relies on toasted whole cumin seeds crushed just before cooking, releasing essential oils that powder cumin can’t deliver. This single technique elevates the chili from generic to genuinely Texan.
The toasting-and-crushing trick is the defining technique. Whole cumin seeds get briefly toasted in a dry skillet to wake up their essential oils, then crushed with a rolling pin to release maximum flavor. Skipping this step and substituting powdered cumin loses about half the spice’s potential. The recipe specifically notes you should not toast powdered cumin (it burns).
Cubed beef instead of ground meat is non-negotiable for proper Texas chili. The half-inch cubes hold their shape through the 90-minute simmer, giving you actual chunks of meat in every bite rather than a sloppy ground-beef sauce. Lean beef chuck works perfectly because the long, slow cook breaks down the connective tissue into gelatin.
A full six tablespoons of chili powder may seem aggressive, but Texas chili is meant to be assertively spiced. Combined with the two tablespoons of paprika, the spice blend is the soul of the dish.
The cracker meal or browned flour tightener is the old-school trick for thickening chili. Stirring a slurry of either into the chili 10 minutes before serving builds body without diluting the spice flavor. Modern cooks might use cornmeal (masa harina) for the same purpose with a hint of corn flavor as bonus.
Serve with cornbread, chopped onion, and shredded cheddar on top.
Chef Tips
- Toast cumin only 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant, longer turns it bitter
- Sear the beef in batches without crowding, crowded pans steam instead of brown
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot for even simmering, thin pans scorch the bottom over 90 minutes
- Salt after the chili has cooked some, salting early can toughen the meat
Variations
- Add a dried ancho chile or two, reconstituted and pureed, for deeper red-chile flavor
- Swap cracker meal for masa harina for a more authentic Tex-Mex tightener
- Stir in a square of unsweetened chocolate for richer, deeper color and flavor
Ingredients
Directions
In a skillet, slightly toast the whole cumin.
To wake up the flavors crush them with a rolling pin.
Powdered cumin may be substituted, but do not toast.
Sauté onion and garlic in a little oil until transparent. In same skillet, add a little more oil and sear meat until it has a greyish color.
Put cumin, onion, garlic and meat in a large vessel.
Add paprika and chili powder, stirring to mix all ingredients, as you add enough water to cover.
Simmer for about 1½ hours, adding salt to taste after the chili has cooked somewhat.
Make a paste of the crackermeal or browned flour by mixing with a little water.
About 10 minutes before chili is ready, stir in this tightener, and cook until chili is thick.
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