Old Fashioned Texas Chili Food

REAL TEXAS CHILI: THE GENUINE ARTICLE

Steps:

• Sear the beef in the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until browned. Do this in batches if necessary.
• After the beef is browned well, add the onions to the pot and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cornmeal and cook for 1 minute.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add water as the chili cooks to make it thicker or thinner, as desired.

TRUE TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• 1. Place the chiles in a straight-sided large skillet over medium-low heat and gently toast the chiles until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't let them burn or they'll turn bitter. Place the chiles in a bowl and cover them with very hot water and soak until soft, 15 to 45 minutes, turning once or twice.
• 2. Drain the chiles; split them and remove stems and seeds (a brief rinse helps remove seeds, but don't wash away the flesh). Place the chiles in the bowl of a blender and add the cumin, black pepper, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/4 cup water. Purée the mixture, adding more water as needed (and occasionally scraping down the sides of the blender jar), until a smooth, slightly fluid paste forms (you want to eliminate all but the tiniest bits of skin.) Set the chile paste aside.
• 3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the lard. When it begins to smoke, swirl skillet to coat and add half of the beef. Lightly brown on at least two sides, about 3 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the meat threatens to burn. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with 2 more tablespoons of lard and the remaining beef. Reserve.
• 4. Let the skillet cool slightly, and place it over medium-low heat. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of lard in the skillet; add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the stock, the remaining 2 cups water and gradually whisk in the masa harina to avoid lumps. Stir in the reserved chile paste, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to loosen any browned bits. Add the reserved beef (and any juices in the bowl) and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain the barest possible simmer (just a few bubbles breaking the surface) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender but still somewhat firm and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of thickened but still liquid sauce surrounds the cubes of meat, about 2 hours.
• 5. Stir in the brown sugar and vinegar thoroughly and add more salt to taste; gently simmer 10 minutes more. At this point, it may look like there is excess sauce. Turn off the heat and let the chili stand for at least 30 minutes, during which time the meat will absorb about half of the remaining sauce in the skillet, leaving the meat bathed in a thick, somewhat fluid sauce. Stir in additional broth or water if the mixture seems too dry. If the mixture seems a bit loose and wet, allow it to simmer a bit more (sometimes we like to partially crush the cubes of beef with the back of a spoon to let them absorb more sauce). Adjust the balance of flavors with a bit of additional salt, sugar, or vinegar, if you like.
• 6. Reheat gently and serve in individual bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top and a lime wedge on the side.

OLD MAMA'S FASHIONED CHILI

Steps:

• Cook and stir ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until crumbly and browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain.
• Stir drained ground beef, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, green bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic, and chili seasoning together in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are slightly tender and chili is heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with hot sauce, salt, and ground black pepper to taste.

TEXAS-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• In a small heavy skillet, toast cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. In a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder, grind to a powder and set aside.
• Meanwhile, roughly cut beef into 2-inch cubes, or slice it against the grain into pieces about 1/4-inch thick by 1 1/2 inches square. Sprinkle with salt.
• In a large, heavy pot over high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, brown the meat, turning occasionally until crusty. Adjust heat to prevent scorching. As it is cooked, remove the meat to drain on paper towels. Add more oil as needed for browning, but do not clean out the pot.
• To the empty but crusty pot, add onion, garlic, jalapeños, masa harina or tortilla (if using), chile powder, cumin-coriander powder and oregano. Cook, stirring, until onion has softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add meat, beer, tomatoes, chocolate, whole dried chiles and 1 quart water. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is fork-tender. Remove the dried chiles. Taste and add salt if necessary.
• Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate. The chili tastes best one or two days after it is made.
• Reheat over low heat if necessary and serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped onion and cilantro. Add Fritos for crunch, or dip tortillas into the spicy gravy.

CRAZY-GOOD OLD-FASHIONED TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Make the chile purée: Remove the stems from the ancho chiles, slice or tear them open and shake out and discard the seeds. Use your fingers (you may want to wear gloves) to remove the stubborn seeds. Heat a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (the same one you'll use to cook the chili) over high heat until it's hot. Add the chiles and toast them, turning once or twice, about 45 seconds total. Transfer the chiles to a medium bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them soak for 30 minutes. Use tongs or a slotted spoon (as you want save the liquid) to transfer the chiles to the jar of a blender. Add about half a cup of the soaking liquid and purée till smooth and thick. Add a little more of the liquid if necessary. Set the purée and the remaining soaking liquid aside.
• While the chiles are soaking, heat the Dutch oven again over high heat, and when it's hot, add the garlic cloves and onion slices and toast them till they're charred in spots, about 5 or 6 minutes. Peel the garlic cloves, and roughly chop them and the onions. Set aside.
• In a small skillet, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 or 3 minutes. Grind in a mortar or spice grinder to a fine powder. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat till shimmering. Add the diced beef and brown, stirring now and then, until all the pink has disappeared, about 10 minutes or so. Pour and scrape the ancho chile purée into the pot and stir to combine, then add about 1 1/2 cups of the chile soaking liquid, plus the onions and garlic, ground cumin, salt, oregano, bay leaves and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cook, partially covered over low heat, for about 2 1/2 hours (till the meat is meltingly tender and the chili is insanely delicious), skimming off the fat now and then and adding a little more chile soaking liquid or water if necessary. Adjust seasoning and serve, passing bowls of chopped onion and grated cheese as garnish, if desired.

REAL TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Brown beef in small amount of oil. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add chili powder, flour, oregano, and cumin. Cook until meat is well coated. Slowly add 2 cans broth. Stir well.
• Partially cover and allow to simmer 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. You may need to use all or part of last can of broth to reach desired consistency.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. If using the beans in the chili, add now. They may also be served on the side or omitted altogether. Partially cover and simmer 45 minutes more.
• IMPORTANT: Cool and refrigerate overnight.
• To serve: Heat chili. Ladle chili in bowl, squeeze lime juice on top and top with sour cream. Serve with hot San Francisco Sour Dough Bread.

CHILI - AUTHENTIC TEXAS RED

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sear the stew meat in the oil for 2 minutes. Pour meat into bowl and combine chili powder, cumin and flour. Mix with the meat until evenly coated. Pour in broth. Add the salt and ground black pepper pour into crock pot, add garlic put on high for an hour then reduce to low for six to seven hours stirring occasionally.

AUTHENTIC 1840 TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Render the fat to liquid.
• Add the beef, and brown lightly, then add onions and garlic.
• (IMPORTANT Do NOT drain the fat or drippings).
• Cook over medium heat, until onions are translucent, then add spices, stirring gently until blended.
• Continue over low heat for at least two hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
• Add salt to taste, though it doesn't need much.
• If it gets too thick, you can add water, but remember that chili is reputed to be able to stand a spoon up straight!
• Its edible after two hours, but improves vastly with time, so don't be afraid to cook 6 or 8 or ten hours --
• After you've tried the "original" recipe as above, you could add one or two jalapeno's, a single tomato and/or green pepper, just to fully appreciate how far this dish has evolved -- .

TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup stock to a boil. Add chilies. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Remove and discard stems from seeds from chiles. Put chiles and soaking liquid into a food processor or blender. Cover and process until smooth., In a large bowl, combine 4 tablespoons flour , salt and pepper. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and toss to coat. , In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Brown beef in batches, adding additional oil as necessary. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add onion to same pan; cook and stir until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1-2 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups broth, stirring to loosen browed bits from pan. Stir in chile mixture. Return beef to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until beef is tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Skim fat. Stir vinegar, cilantro, brown sugar and cumin; simmer another 10 minutes. If desired, serve with tortillas, sour cream, lime wedges and additional cilantro.

REAL TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the beef cubes in the oil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the garlic.
• In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin and flour. Sprinkle over the meat and stir until evenly coated. Crumble the oregano over the meat and pour in 1 1/2 cans of the broth.
• Add the salt and ground black pepper, stir together well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer, partially covered for about 90 minutes. Pour in remaining broth and simmer 30 minutes more, until meat begins to fall apart. Cool, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to blend.