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We have always eaten chili in my family. Chili in lots of forms, from fragrant green chili verde to cans of Hormel warmed in a campfire to everything in between. But the original, the chili that we made as a Sunday dinner or for special occasions, was really special. Having a big family, big cuts of meat were never on the menu, so having something that involved lots of meat at all was pretty special, no matter the generation. This is that chili. With a big core of the family coming from Northern Arizona, this recipe is similar to what you might find there. As such, it's a little different from Texas style or the weird pasta sauce that they serve in Cincinnati. The only things you'll find here are meat, chilies, and a few aromatics such as onions. INGREDIENTS:   (quantities up to personal taste. This is what I used.) A big chunk of beef, 4-5 pounds. A beef heart. Beef chorizo, 1 package. Onions, 2, in this case. Garlic, a whole head. Chilies (I used about twice as many as you see in this photo. These are guajillos and californias.) Extra lard for sauteing/browning if needed (I needed). Cumin, about 2 tablespoons whole seeds. Lamb or mutton broth, enough to cover everything else. I used about 5 cups. Salt, a few teaspoons. Black Pepper, a teaspoon or so. Cinnamon, about 1 teaspoon. Allspice, about 1 teaspoon. As I understand it, it's the use of heart and lamb/mutton broth that sets this chili apart - I've never seen those things in other places, but I've seen it in lots of places in Northern Arizona. It makes things gooooooood. METHOD: Start by chopping up the beef and heart into whatever sizes you like. My family likes big pieces, so these are big pieces. Brown them in small batches until they get nice and brown (this shot was from about 30% on their way to brown - photos were harder than I remember doing these competitions!)  Once those two meats are brown, you add the onions and lightly crushed cumin to the same pan and begin to saute. You don't want these to get too brown, but you do want them to be at least translucent.  In the meantime, you should have deseeded and soaked your chilies. Put them, an entire head of garlic, the remaining spices, and enough chili soaking liquid into a blender (do in batches if you need to) and blend to a nice paste.  Add the broth to the pan where the onions are cooking, deglazing well. I add just a cup or so, then I add the chili paste. Then a little more broth. Get this all to a boil.  Add the reserved meat, and also the chorizo, cover with broth, and cook for hours and hours. I cooked on low, covered, for about 5 1/2 hours. At that point, it should be just about done - you'll know it is if the meat is fork tender and the stew looks like a roiling hellbroth of spice and meat.  Take the lid off and begin to reduce it a bit. Remember, the only thickener here is the chorizo, and it brings some oil with it (that you can remove or not, your choice - I don't remove it because I like it). While it's cooking, make cornbread.  When the reducing is done, and the flavors have melded, and your cornbread is ready, shred a little bit of cheese and serve.  Use extra cornbread to sop up all the juices. The best drink with this is black coffee. I actually want all of you to make this sometime - I think you'll really dig it. Mod Edit: Tables repaired. Somebody fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Oct 4, 2017 |
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Oct 4, 2017 00:11
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 21:08 |
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why is it the best
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Oct 4, 2017 00:46
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Hell yeah this is my jam. I'll be doing a very similar recipe to this one in a week or less for this. Nice stuff dude. That's the way I like my chili as well.
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Oct 4, 2017 00:58
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Erl in yo chili
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Oct 4, 2017 04:06
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Dang. I'm definitely gonna make this.
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Oct 4, 2017 05:47
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Black coffee? Not beer?
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Oct 4, 2017 21:44
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Scientastic posted:Black coffee? Not beer? It's a cultural thing. Beer is good too.
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Oct 4, 2017 22:02
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrmZAXezkhA
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Oct 6, 2017 16:23
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Oct 7, 2017 13:17
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That's some fine-looking chili. How prominent is the lamb flavor in the final chili? It's very interesting to use lamb broth but only beef for the meat.
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Oct 13, 2017 05:47
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Kenning posted:That's some fine-looking chili. How prominent is the lamb flavor in the final chili? It's very interesting to use lamb broth but only beef for the meat. It adds a nice depth and "lambiness" for sure. Stands up really well to the chili peppers. If you look at cookbooks from the rural west - Northern AZ, Utah, Nevada, etc. - you see lamb (or mutton) broth as the primary liquid for cooking, much like we see chicken stock today. It really adds something when used as a base in a blend of flavours instead of just as a star meat ingredient.
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Oct 13, 2017 17:48
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 21:08 |
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That is a great looking chili, and some drat fine cornbread with it. Beef heart is also a great choice. I'd love to get ahold of one.
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Oct 17, 2017 23:38
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