Spiced Mexican Beef Chili
Submitted by jenniann
An old-fashioned Mexican beef chili: diced beef braised with garlic, cumin and oregano in a smooth purée of dried chiles, served with a border of fried refried beans. Real chiles, real depth.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
9 hrsREADY
10 hrsThis is Mexican chili the old way, from before chili powder came in a jar. Lean beef is diced, not ground, and braised slowly with garlic, onion, and the holy trio of ground cumin, oregano, and coriander.
The heart of it is the chile purée. You take dried whole peppers, pull the seeds, boil them until soft, then push them through a fine strainer into a smooth, deep-red purée. Stir in as much as you like to set the heat and flavor. It’s more work than shaking out powder, but it’s exactly why this tastes like the real thing: earthy, smoky, and complex.
A spoonful of flour and a little espagnole (a classic brown sauce) give the chili body and gloss.
It’s traditionally served ringed with a border of frijoles, mashed beans fried in hot lard until browned and almost dry. Patience is the price here, since both the beans and the beef reward long, slow cooking.
Chef Tips
- Make the chile purée from dried whole peppers for real depth: deseed, boil soft, and strain it smooth.
- Use diced beef rather than ground for a chunkier, more old-fashioned chili.
- Add the chile purée gradually, tasting as you go, to control the heat.
- Fry the mashed beans in hot fat until browned and fairly dry for proper, flavorful frijoles.
Variations
- Stir chopped onion, red pepper, or grated cheese into the frijoles, as the recipe suggests.
- Use a mix of dried chiles like ancho and guajillo for a layered, complex purée.
- Swap the espagnole for a simple roux or extra stock if you don’t have brown sauce on hand.
Ingredients
Directions
Take lean beef and cut in small dice, put to cook with a little oil.
When well braised, add some onions, a clove of garlic chopped fine and one tables poon flour.
Mix and cover with water or stock and two tablespoons espagnole, 1 teaspoon each of ground oregano, camino, and coriander.
The latter can be purch ased at any drug store .
Take dried whole peppers and remove the seeds, cover w ith water and put to boil and when thoroughly cooked pass through a fine strainer.
Add sufficient purée to the stew to make it good and hot, and salt to taste .
To be served with a border of Mexican beans (frijoles), well cooked in salted water.
Boil beans in an earthen vessel until soft (four to eight hours).
Mash and put them into a frying pan of very hot lard and fry until comparatively dry and light brown.
Sometimes chopped onions are put int o the lard before the beans are added and sometimes pods of red pepper or grated cheese.
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