Texas Style Eggplant Chili Food

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.

TEXAS STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• In a large heavy pot (such as a cast iron Dutch oven), heat the fat or oil over high heat. Add the meat and sear, stirring, until no longer pink. Lower the heat to medium-high. Add the onions, jalapenos, garlic, chiles, and chili powder, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are wilted and start to color, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the beer and tequila and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Add the chipotles and adobo sauce and 4 cups of the stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, 2 to 3 hours, adding the remaining cup of stock as needed if the chili becomes too dry or thick. When the meat is tender and the chili is ready, add the masa harina 1 teaspoon at a time to thicken to desired consistency, stirring well and cooking after the addition of each before adding more.
• Remove from the heat and correct the seasoning, to taste. Skim any fat from the surface.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish each with cilantro, chopped onions, and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with hot cornbread.

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.

TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Remove the stems and some of the seeds from the ancho, arbol and guajillo chiles; then tear the chiles into large pieces. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, toast the chiles until they start to change color, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup hot water to just cover the chiles; turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let steam for 15 minutes. Transfer the chiles and liquid to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, peppers, Fresno chiles and Anaheim peppers. Cook until the onions are translucent, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside on a baking sheet or in a bowl.
• Sprinkle the beef chuck and ground beef with salt and pepper, then add to the Dutch oven. Cook until well browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne and cinnamon; saute until fragrant, about 2 more minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables, beef stock and the chile puree, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a very low simmer. Simmer until the beef is very tender and the liquid has reduced, about 2 hours. Stir in the beer and paprika, then add the masa harina to tighten sauce. Stir over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, breaking up some of the beef so it gets worked into the sauce slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm.
• Serve generous portions of chili in bowls, drizzled with Cheddar Beer Cheese Sauce and garnished with sour cream, scallions, red onion and crackers.
• Remove the stems and some of the seeds from the ancho, arbol and guajillo chiles; then tear the chiles into large pieces. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, toast the chiles until they start to change color, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup hot water to just cover the chiles; turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let steam for 15 minutes. Transfer the chiles and liquid to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, peppers, Fresno chiles and Anaheim peppers. Cook until the onions are translucent, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside on a baking sheet or in a bowl.
• Sprinkle the beef chuck and ground beef with salt and pepper, then add to the Dutch oven. Cook until well browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne and cinnamon; saute until fragrant, about 2 more minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables, beef stock and the chile puree, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a very low simmer. Simmer until the beef is very tender and the liquid has reduced, about 2 hours. Stir in the beer and paprika, then add the masa harina to tighten sauce. Stir over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, breaking up some of the beef so it gets worked into the sauce slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm.
• Serve generous portions of chili in bowls, drizzled with Cheddar Beer Cheese Sauce and garnished with sour cream, scallions, red onion and crackers.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and flour and mix together to make a roux. Cook until nutty and fragrant but still light in color, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the beer and half-and-half, whisking to create a smooth, thick sauce. Add the Cheddar, cream cheese, Worcestershire, salt, dry mustard, paprika, cayenne and pepper. Cook over low heat, while continuing to whisk, for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm until ready to serve.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and flour and mix together to make a roux. Cook until nutty and fragrant but still light in color, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the beer and half-and-half, whisking to create a smooth, thick sauce. Add the Cheddar, cream cheese, Worcestershire, salt, dry mustard, paprika, cayenne and pepper. Cook over low heat, while continuing to whisk, for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm until ready to serve.

TEXAS STYLE EGGPLANT CHILI

Steps:

• 1. Place Pasilla peppers in 2 cups boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes. Remove from water and place in blender with 1/4 cup boiling water.
• 2. Dice eggplant and cook on low in Dutch oven. Add lime juice.
• 3. Add jalapeño and French onion soup to peppers in blender. Puree until smooth. Add mixture to eggplant.
• 4. Add paprika, cola, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and ranch style beans to mixture.
• 5. Cook on low for 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
• 6. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

SZECHUAN-STYLE EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Toss eggplant in colander with salt; let stand 30 minutes.
• Rinse off salt and pat eggplant dry with paper towels; set aside.
• Place green onion in work bowl of food processor with steel knife.
• With machine running, drop ginger and garlic through feed tube and mince finely.
• Combine peanut oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil and dried red pepper flakes in wok or heavy 12 inch skillet over high heat and cook until pepper flakes turn black.
• Add green onion mixture and stir fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add eggplant and toss to coat with oil.
• Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until eggplant softens, shaking wok occasionally to prevent sticking, 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, blend Sherry, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and chili paste in work bowl 3 seconds.
• Add Sherry mixture to wok and stir 2 minutes.
• Dissolve cornstarch in 1 teaspoon sesame oil and add to wok.
• Stir until sauce is glossy, about 15 more seconds.
• Serve immediately.

TEXAS CHILI RECIPE

Steps:

• Add vegetable oil and onions to a large dutch oven on medium heat and cook until the onions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute stirring well.
• Add the ground beef, breaking apart as you cook it for 6-8 minutes but leave the chunks a bit larger, and allow the beef to sear well.
• Add in the salt, ancho chile powder, cumin, paprika and brown sugar and stir well, cooking for 1 minute.
• Add in the diced tomatoes, and tomato paste and whisk well until the tomato paste is well mixed in.
• Add in the beef broth and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 1 hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.
• Chili is done when the beef broth is reduced to the right consistency where the ground beef is not lost in the gravy.

EGGPLANT CHILI

Steps:

• Add ground beef, onion, and garlic to a large pot; cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, stirring to crumble up the meat; drain well.
• Add all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans.
• Stir to combine.
• Cover and lower heat; simmer for 2 hours.
• Add in kidney beans; stir.
• Cover and cook 30 minutes; adjust seasoning to taste.

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.

SLOW COOKER EGGPLANT CHILI

Steps:

• Place red beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let soak, 8 hours to overnight.
• Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add green bell pepper and garlic and cook 5 minutes more. Add eggplant and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, and cover skillet; let eggplant mixture cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, combine drained beans, crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper, and cocoa in a slow cooker and stir to combine. Add eggplant mixture from the skillet and stir to combine.
• Cook chili on Low power until beans are tender, about 6 hours.

EGGPLANT CHINESE STYLE

Steps:

• Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, hot chili sauce, sugar, and water together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Slice eggplant crosswise around 1 ½ inch thick. Cut those pieces in half.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Add the eggplant and sauté over high heat, covered for about 5 minutes, turning the pieces in the hot oil occasionally. Remove the lid, add the ginger, garlic, scallions, and sauté uncovered for about 1 minute, tossing gently a few times.
• Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet, cover, and cook for about 1 minute. Uncover and cook for another minute. Add the parsley, toss and serve.

HOW TO MAKE CHILI

Steps:

• A great chili rests on two foundations: its protein, and the peppers that flavor it. It is, essentially, a stew. We'll get to the chiles, but we'll begin with the protein. If you're cooking with meat, look for a cut high in fat and flavor. If you're cooking with beans, find a sturdy variety: A pinto or navy bean is an excellent chili bean.Chuck beef, from the steer's shoulder, is excellent for chili. But you can also do very well with brisket and short ribs, and there are fantastic chilis made of lamb and pork shoulder. Whatever protein you use, cut the meat into 2-inch cubes, or, if you'd like to work faster or simply prefer the texture, use ground meat. In much of Texas and at the butcher shop anywhere, you can get your meat coarsely ground, which just about splits the difference between cubes and ground. But you can also use a combination: Some cooks even like to use a number of different cuts, combining stew meat with ground. Consider between ¼ and a ⅓ of a pound per person. It should yield enough fat to flavor your chili well. Whatever you choose, be sure to fry some bacon in the pot before you get started, and then set it aside to crumble into the chili later in the process. There are those who swear by ground turkey chilis or who make the dish with chicken. Be careful when doing so, however, so that the meat does not dry out. Consider between ¼ and a ⅓ of a pound per person, supplemented perhaps with a few strips of bacon to help keep everything juicy. Or use chunks of dark meat from the richer, fattier thighs, or even duck.Farm-raised or wild-shot game - venison, buffalo, moose, marsh duck, goose - often bridges the distance between red meat and poultry: It delivers powerful flavor whether it comes from the field or the sky. Cook between ¼ and ⅓ pound per person, substituting some ground beef or lamb if the game is very lean. As with turkey and other lean cuts, you'll want to add some fat to the proceedings, for flavor and lusciousness. There are those who consider beans in chili to be an apostasy. But beans in chili can be delicious and, indeed, are an easy way to "stretch" a chili from a dish that serves 6 to a dish that serves 10 or even 12. (Figure something in the neighborhood of a cup of cooked beans per person.) Pinto beans make a wonderful addition to a beef chili, and white ones are beautiful with poultry and lamb. Some may cook only with beans, using chiles and spices to deliver big flavor into each legume. It is a good idea, in this case, to think about increasing the variety of chiles used, and to consider increasing the level of spice as well. A base of sautéed onions and garlic, heated through with oregano before adding chiles and beans, is a fine way to launch a vegetarian chili. (Take a look at Melissa Clark's recipe for a vegetarian skillet chili, if you want a starting point - or a finishing one.) All will defend their decisions as the only permissible ones. And do you need to cook the beans from scratch? You do not, unless you want to. Chili should never be a project.
• Traditional Texas chili is made with meat, chiles and little else. What kind of chiles and what form they take is a matter of some debate. Best in our view is a mixture: fresh jalapeños, dried anchos and pasilla powder. Top row, from left: Dried ancho chiles, dried New Mexico chiles and fresh jalapeño peppers. Bottom row, from left: Dried chipotle peppers, dried pasilla peppers and fresh poblanos. Some varieties of chiles are hot, some sweet and some smoky. Some are dried and toasted and ground together; others are toasted and then simmered in water or stock before being blitzed in a blender or food processor or fished from the pot and discarded; still others are used fresh. As a general rule, you'll want to add any chili powder early in the process, preferably after you've seared the meat and as you're cooking down any aromatics. But whole chiles can be added along with the cooking juices, and pulled out before serving. The world of chiles is broad, but here are a few varieties that work especially well in chili. There was a time when some of them were hard to find, even in large urban supermarkets. That is no longer true, save perhaps in the case of the delicious Chimayo. In which case, as ever, the internet can provide. Poblano: A big green pepper that is not too punchy in its heat. As poblanos ripen, the fruit reddens. Ancho: A dried, ripe poblano pepper becomes an ancho chile, sweet and smoky, mild to medium hot. Pasilla: This is a dark chocolate-brown dried pepper of moderate pungency, and brings great deepness of flavor to a chili. Jalapeño: Arguably America's pepper, this fiery little fruit can provide real zip and freshness when added to chili. When it has been smoked and dried, a jalapeño is called a chipotle. Chimayo: A New Mexican pepper of extraordinary richness, which when dried and ground brings a deep redness to all that it touches. If you can't find any Chimayos, note that any pepper from the state of New Mexico, usually labeled a "New Mexican" chile, is a worthy substitute, fresh or dried.Confusingly, chile powder and chili powder are two different things. (More confusingly, The Times has conflated them for years.) Chile powder is just dried, pulverized chiles. Chili powder, on the other hand, is a mixture of dried, ground chiles with other spices, and it helps bring a distinctive flavor to the dish that bears its name. HOMEMADE CHILI POWDER: Come up with a good recipe for chili powder, and it will give you some of the confidence to call your chili the best you've ever made. To follow the Texas restaurateur Robb Walsh's recipe, toast three medium-sized ancho chiles in a pan, then remove them and allow to cool. Do the same with a ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds. Seed the anchos and cut them into strips and then process them in a spice grinder with the cumin seeds, a big pinch of Mexican oregano and, if you like, a shake of garlic powder. Use that in your chili, and then store what's left over in a sealed jar. Use it quickly, though. It grows stale fast. STORE-BOUGHT CHILI POWDER: Chili powder is, like the dish it serves, a Texas tradition, most likely dating to the arrival in the state of German immigrants who thought to treat the local chiles as their forebears did the hot peppers in Europe, drying and grinding them into a kind of New World paprika. Eventually other spices were added - cumin and oregano and garlic powder, for instance - and now each chili powder you see in a store is slightly different from the last. For some, using chili powder in chili is anathema. They don't like the uncertainty of knowing what the mixture is going to taste like in their stew. They don't trust that the powder is fresh. They believe the resulting chili won't have layers of flavors. For many others, though, chili powder is a delicious timesaver, particularly if they've found a chili powder they like. If you do find one, use it a lot. The critics aren't wrong about the freshness.
• You've gathered your protein, and made executive decisions about your spices. It's time to make the chili. Making one calls for layering flavors into the stew, deepening each as you cook. Start by browning the meat in batches, then removing it to rest while you sweat onions, garlic and peppers, in whatever form you're using them, in the remaining fat. If you're making a vegetarian chili, start with the sweat! Then comes liquid, which will deglaze the pot and add flavor, while also providing a flavorful medium in which to simmer your meats or beans. In her Texas-style chili (below), Julia Moskin here at The Times taught us to use dark beer along with water and some canned tomatoes, but you can use plain stock instead, or a lighter beer, or more tomatoes in their juices, or a combination, according to your taste. Some like to add body to their chili by adding masa harina to the stewing liquid, or a sliced-up fresh corn tortilla that will dissolve in the heat. Julia allows for both in her recipe, which we've taken as our standard, but we encourage you to use the information you've gleaned here to make chili your own. The dish is very simple: browned meat and chiles, or chili powder, or both, simmered until tender. Everything else is up to you. Add a few dried peppers to simmer alongside the protein, and if you're cooking beef or game, consider adding a tab of dark chocolate to help deepen the flavor of the sauce. Then bring the heat to the lowest possible temperature until the protein is, as the saying goes, fork-tender. That could take 30 minutes if you're working off coarsely ground beef. It could take four hours if you're working with venison or a big clod of beef. If your stovetop can't go lower than a fast simmer, cook the chili in the oven instead, partly covered, at 325 degrees. Or use a slow cooker set to low, and keep a good eye on it after four hours or so. Fish out the dried peppers, and you're ready to eat. Once you've aced Julia's master recipe for Texas-style chili, you can explore other chili styles, whether it's a vegetarian chili with winter vegetables, Cincinnati-style chili, chili-gumbo of south Louisiana, Pierre Franey's lamb chili with lentils or his turkey chili. All reflect and celebrate America's ever-changing relationship with the dish.
• The chili's done, but don't eat it yet. As with gumbo and beef stew, chili is a dish that benefits mightily from an overnight "cure" in the refrigerator. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in a low oven when you're ready to eat, and top it with any or all of these fixings. • Chili gains a lot from the bright punch of alliums: Chopped onion and scallions are a great bet. As are avocado slices, or, one better, homemade guacamole. • Cut through the dish's richness with the clean flavors of fresh chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves. • Or if a lightly vinegary finish is more your speed, top your chili with pickled jalapeños or red onions. • To mellow your chili's heat, pair it with a spoonful of sour cream, or some plain Greek yogurt. • Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack can add a mellow saltiness. • And, lastly, consider the fried egg. A worthy companion, it can even make last night's chili dinner into a hearty breakfast.• Pour the chili over rice, whether white or brown; spaghetti, as a nod to the Cincinnati style; or warm and creamy grits. • Or top it with corn or tortilla chips, crumbled Saltines, oyster crackers or Fritos. (Or, put the chili on top of those Fritos for a Frito pie.) • Serve it with warm tortillas or one of many kinds of cornbread.