Introduction
I’ve been making chili since I was a kid. My mom would work nights and some days I would take over making dinner; either from instructions she’d left, or just from my imagination and knowing what my brothers wanted to eat.
Chili is a staple, and ultimately a fuel food. That doesn’t mean however that you cannot enjoy it as well. This chili is meant to be enjoyed in that vein, with a cold beer and some sour cream. If you can find it, fresh cilantro is fantastic as a garnish.
My chili recipes vary from some pretty basic hot-as-hell stuff to this which is far more complex in it’s final flavors than your average “hot dog chili” chili. The result of this dish is what comes to my mind whenever someone uses the phrase “sweet meats” even though I understand that they are talking about the darker, more choice cuts of whatever.
Ingredients
1 White Onion 1 Red Onion 2 Carrots 1-3 Jalepenos 3-5 Chipotle Dried 1-2 Quarts Crushed Tomato Turmeric (trust me) Corn Flour Chili Powder (Whatever you like, I don't use much of this so I buy the cheapest.) Cumin Seed (Ground) Black Pepper Salt 1-3 Pounds of "Stew Beef" 1 Beer 2 Cups Cold Coffee Cinnamon Sazòn Goya Bacon Grease (Of course) Canola Oil
Onion
Dice your onions into pieces as small as you can manage without cutting your fingers off. Ideally you want to cook away the onion almost entirely and retain only the flavor. Slice your jalepeno into rings for the visual impact.
Spices
Sazòn Goya is a fantastic thing to have in the kitchen. Package stores sell boxes with 100 packets in them, each is perfect for a single recipe. Chipotle peppers are easy to find at your grocery store.
When it comes to chili powder, I usually don’t bother using a lot because it’s just terrible stuff really. You can achieve the same result mixing your favorite paprika, cumin, and black or red cayenne pepper in equal parts.
The two spices in this particular dish that are going to throw folks for a loop are cinnamon and turmeric. There used to be this greek marinade that was outstanding on chicken that they don’t make anymore and it’s main ingredient was turmeric. After using it in one or two dishes I was hooked. It reminds me of saffron, but it’s cheaper and lasts longer. Cinnamon is from the cincinnati style chili recipes I’ve tried over the years and about the only thing worthwhile from those (green bell pepper… what is this? Wendys?)
Sautee
We’re essentially going to make a mirepoix using the onion, carrots and if you’re inclined one or two jalepeno peppers. Use the bacon grease (1 heaping spoonful) and 1 tablespoon of oil.
Beer Reduction
When your onions are brown, you’re going to glaze with a bottle of beer. Any beer in the fridge will work, I’ve been inclined to use more hearty stuff lately. Reduce this for 5-6 minutes and put the whole mix to this point into a crock pot or separate pan.
Untitled from Urbanfort on Vimeo.
Meat
For the meat, I’m using corn flour as a dressing, mixed with some turmeric and black pepper. This gives the meat a bit more tangy flavor, and we’re browning it because we’re going to be cooking it over low heat for a really long time.
Coffee Reduction
After you’ve browned your meat, you’ll have an absolute mess in the pan. Don’t clean it out! Instead, pour in the remainder of your corn flour dressing (around 1/8th cup should be left.) And stir that in. Then pour in your cold coffee and start stirring. It won’t take long and you’ll have a lovely brown paste that clings to the pan. Take it off the heat, stir it a bit longer to make sure you don’t have any clumps and then pour that into the crock with everything else.
Coffee Reduction from Urbanfort on Vimeo.
We reduce the coffee with the remains of the searing of the beef. This allows the coffee to open up the bits of fat left from the browning and prepares our thickener when combined with the remainder of the corn flour.
Coffee Reduction Consistency from Urbanfort on Vimeo.
This is the consistency you’re aiming for.
Finishing
Add 1 or 2 quarts of crushed tomatoes to your crock pot (if it will fit) and cook on low heat for 24-48 hours. Make sure to keep an eye on it, it will burn in the crock pot no matter what the label on the box says. Serve with chilled sour cream dollops and fresh cilantro chopped. Adventurous souls may also want some additional jalepeno fresh on top.
