True Texas Pandemonium Chili Food

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.

SEVEN-CHILE TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the dried chiles (anchos, pasillas, costenos, guajillos, and chiles de arbol) in a dry, cast-iron skillet on medium for a couple of minutes on each side. Turn off the heat and then add enough water to the skillet to cover the chiles, and let them soak for half an hour.
• Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven, fry up your bacon. When done, remove from pan and crumble (Don't worry if you opt to eat a slice-you deserve it!) and leave the bacon grease in the pot (it should be about 3 tablespoons). In the pot, cook your beef in the bacon grease on medium heat, a few minutes on each side until lightly browned. You will probably have to cook these in 2 batches.
• Remove the browned beef from the pot, and add your onions. Cook on medium until clear. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Put the beef back in the pot, and mix in the coffee, the beer, water, bacon crumbles, cumin, cinnamon, clove, allspice, coriander, and cayenne. Add salt to taste and turn the heat up to high.
• Your soaking chiles should be soft by now. Drain and rinse, discarding the soaking water (it will be bitter) and place them in a blender along with the canned chipotle chiles and one cup of fresh water. Puree until nice and smooth and then add the chile puree to the chili pot.
• When chili begins to boil, turn heat down to low and let simmer for five hours, stirring occasionally. Taste it once an hour, and if the flavors are too muted, feel free to add more of any of the spices. Also, it starts to get too dry, add more liquid (your choice!).
• After 5 hours, take a Mexican hot chocolate disc, and finely grate 1/3 of it into the pot. Scoop out 1 cup of broth and add the masa harina. Mix it well and then reincorporate it back into the pot. Stir until chili is thickened.
• Let the chili simmer for another half hour or so. Taste and adjust seasonings. When done, serve with cheddar, onions and tortillas.

TRUE TEXAS PANDEMONIUM CHILI

Steps:

• Instructions:.
• Brown beef in 2 tsp Wesson Oil, with diced Onions, Annaheim and Serrano peppers. Add beef broth, 2 cups water, 1 can Hunts Tomato Sauce and 1st spices. Bring to boil, cover and cook at medium boil until beef is almost tender (approx 2-1/2 hr). 30 minutes before serving add 2nd spices and 2nd can of Hunts tomato sauce. 20 minutes before serving add 3rd spices. 10 minutes before serving add 4th spices, and 2 squares of chocolate. Adjust to taste for salt and for heat add Tabasco Sauce.

TRUE TEXAS CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat oil in 6-quart saucepan.
• Add ground beef, onions and garlic and saute until meat is browned.
• Stir in next 7 ingredients and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, about 45-55 minutes.
• Taste and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, if desired.
• Ladle into bowls.
• Garnish with cheese, onion and avocado, if desired.

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.

REAL TEXAS CHILI (CHILI CON CARNE)

Steps:

• Grind the meat through the coarse blade of a meat grinder.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meat in small batches in the bacon drippings.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked meat to a second large heavy skillet. Set aside.
• Wash the ancho peppers in cold water. Discard the stems and seeds, and tear the peppers into 2 inch pieces.
• Place the pieces of pepper in a small sauce pan with 2 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Drain the peppers, reserving the cooking water. Peel the skin from the peppers and place the peppers in the bowl of a food processor. Add the reserved water. Puree with short pulses.
• Mix the pureed pepper into the beef. Add 3 cups water. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Stir in oregano, cumin, salt, cayenne, and garlic. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
• Mix in the masa harina. Cover. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking.
• If the mixtures is too thick, thin it with a small amount of boiling water.
• Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Serve with hunks of smokin' hot cornbread and a tall iced tea.