by pinback » Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:21 pm
I made this up today, and while people throw the words "best chili ever" around like so many illegal Mexican immigrants, I nearly fell over when I tasted it, because I realized that no chili could ever be this fantastic, and if this is all I ever had to eat for the rest of my life, I would thank the heavens.
It's also quite simple. You could probably even make it seven or even SIX-chile chili and it would still be wonderful, so if you don't have all the ingredients, just roll with it.
I will STAR the ingredients you can leave out or replace, and will NUMBER the chiles as I list them, to prove there are eight.
INGREDIENTS
--------------
2 pounds round or chuck steak, fat removed, 1/2-inch dice
1 large onion, 1/4-inch dice
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can kidney beans, drained
2 tablespoons flour
2 red jalapenos, seeded, finely diced (1)
3 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped (2)
1.5 tablespoons "chili powder" (3) (* -- can replace with more ancho)
1.5 tablespoons Ancho chile powder (4)
1.5 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (5) (*)
2 teaspoons garlic powder (* can replace with real garlic if you want)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (6)
1 teaspoon paprika (7) (*)
Tabasco sauce (8)
Some vegetable oil
Water
DIRECTIONS
-------------
- Heat a big ol' pot to high with some veg oil in there until shimmering.
- Throw in the beef to brown.
- When browned, throw in onions and jalapenos, cook until softened.
- Throw in all dry ingredients and chopped chipotle. Stir and cook for one minute.
- Add tomato sauce, and enough water to fully cover everything.
- Add several healthy shakes of the Tabasco sauce.
- Lower heat to bring the entire mess to a light bubbling simmer.
- Wait for like an hour and a half or two hours, until enough water is gone to make the ingredients plainly evident, but not dry.
- Take out about a quarter cup of the liquid, mix with flour into a paste, and add the paste back in.
- Add the beans.
- Turn heat up to get to a decent bubble, so the flour can thicken.
- Lower heat to a simmer again and leave for another 20 minutes or so.
It sounds complicated but it isn't. You can leave the beans out if you want, even.
Oh my Christ.
I made this up today, and while people throw the words "best chili ever" around like so many illegal Mexican immigrants, I nearly fell over when I tasted it, because I realized that no chili could ever be this fantastic, and if this is all I ever had to eat for the rest of my life, I would thank the heavens.
It's also quite simple. You could probably even make it seven or even SIX-chile chili and it would still be wonderful, so if you don't have all the ingredients, just roll with it.
I will STAR the ingredients you can leave out or replace, and will NUMBER the chiles as I list them, to prove there are eight.
INGREDIENTS
--------------
2 pounds round or chuck steak, fat removed, 1/2-inch dice
1 large onion, 1/4-inch dice
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can kidney beans, drained
2 tablespoons flour
2 red jalapenos, seeded, finely diced (1)
3 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped (2)
1.5 tablespoons "chili powder" (3) (* -- can replace with more ancho)
1.5 tablespoons Ancho chile powder (4)
1.5 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (5) (*)
2 teaspoons garlic powder (* can replace with real garlic if you want)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (6)
1 teaspoon paprika (7) (*)
Tabasco sauce (8)
Some vegetable oil
Water
DIRECTIONS
-------------
- Heat a big ol' pot to high with some veg oil in there until shimmering.
- Throw in the beef to brown.
- When browned, throw in onions and jalapenos, cook until softened.
- Throw in all dry ingredients and chopped chipotle. Stir and cook for one minute.
- Add tomato sauce, and enough water to fully cover everything.
- Add several healthy shakes of the Tabasco sauce.
- Lower heat to bring the entire mess to a light bubbling simmer.
- Wait for like an hour and a half or two hours, until enough water is gone to make the ingredients plainly evident, but not dry.
- Take out about a quarter cup of the liquid, mix with flour into a paste, and add the paste back in.
- Add the beans.
- Turn heat up to get to a decent bubble, so the flour can thicken.
- Lower heat to a simmer again and leave for another 20 minutes or so.
It sounds complicated but it isn't. You can leave the beans out if you want, even.
Oh my Christ.