My husband and I had a long time dialog about proper Chili. It usually started with him saying something about it not having beans. He had never come up with anything compelling. Chili, it is as controversial as BBQ and who is from the South. Finally he came to me with the idea that beans do not grow well in Texas. This I can work with. Beans like a hot, humid climate. Most of Texas is quite arid. Then he started bringing me recipes. The recipes reminded me of Mexican recipes for met that was stewed all day. The ingredients made sense. We eventually found this recipe.
My husband is not a fan of a lot of heat, so we had to make a few modifications. Anyone who knows me knows that I can not help myself but to adjust.
“The code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules." -Hector Barbossa
That being said, here is what we did...
We dropped the bacon and either use Beef Heart or substitute Beef Broth for the water-this makes it richer.
For the Chili Powder, we get large packages of dried Ancho, Juajillo or whatever peppers are available, seed them and grind them. One of these days I will try it with the seeds in, and a second batch with store bought chili powder, if I can find it without anti-caking agents.
And here is what we came up with...
TEXAS RED mild a.k.a. Chili to us Yankees and Northerners
Ingredients
3 lbs Beef or Beef heart in a large grind or small cubed
1 onion finely chopped
1 T garlic minced
1 T cumin powder
1 T salt
1 c ground chili's (ancho and guajillo perferred)
4 c water or Beef Broth if using Beef and not the Heart
Directions
1 mix all ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil
2 simmer on low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally
3 serve with; hot sauce, sour cream, grated cheese and biscuits
Notes
1 Different peppers will change the flavor mildly
2 Leave in as many seeds as you want heat. We take out all the seeds for my husband, I add hot sauce to mine.
3 Beef heart gives a richer flavor but does not have the, "Off" flavor often found with organ meats. It is also awesome because it has extra bioavailability and is cheap.
I hope this inspires you to try something old and something new.
Anthoinette
