Texas Red Chili

Autumn officially greeted us with the first major cold front this weekend and since it was also game day, I figured it would be fitting for me to tackle my first attempt at making Texas chili. Suffice to say, disappoint was not the word of the day.

Texas Red Chili

I mostly followed the recipe below except for a couple variations. Instead of 4-6 oz. of chicken stock or water, I used a cup of strong coffee. Other recipes I read used this trick and I decided to incorporate it to the the mix. I also favored extra lean ground beef and added a can of chili beans. After browning the ground beef, I gave in to my garlic addiction by pressing in 3 cloves to the batch. For beer I definitely went with a nice bottle of Shiner Bock. I skipped out on the Mexican oregano since I didn’t have any and substituted masa flour for all-purpose flour. When using regular flour, I found that the best consistency for my liking was 4 tbsp.  The results came out spectacular with a nice spicy kick at the end notes of every bite. Overall, this is a pretty simple recipe that’s requires little effort to gain fantastic results.

Texas Red Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef or chili grind chuck
• 1 14.5 oz. can tomatoes, pureed
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 12 oz of Shiner Bock or any dark German beer.
• 4-6 oz. chicken stock or water.
• 1/4 cup red chili powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin, ground
• 4 medium chipotle peppers, ground dry, seeds and all.
• 2 tbsp corn masa flour (Masa Ferina)
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or bacon grease.

Method:

Heat oil or bacon grease in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Crumble in ground beef, break up any lumps with a wooden spoon and cook, stirring occasionally until meat is browned. Drain off all fat and return meat to pot.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring often to prevent burning. Add chicken stock or water as needed to achieve desired consistency.

Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Simmer uncovered for an additional hour, adding liquid if necessary. Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Source: Cooking By The Seat of My Pants