I want me some Texas chili

[DWCowles]

The hotter the better

[Jerod Broussard]

Hahaha.....

[Breadhead]

I stumbled on to this chili recipe online somewhere and I find it to be very good... If you like it hotter, just increase the hot spices.


Texas Jailhouse Chili...

Legend has it that the Texas prison system made such good chili the prisoner's when freed often wrote the prison and asked for the recipe...

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onions
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 lbs ground beef
2 cans (28oz each) tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies
1 can (6oz) tomato paste
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can (16oz) small red beans (not kidney) and the liquid
1 can (16oz) pinto beans and the liquid


Do this...
In a Dutch oven or heavy pot heat the oil. 
Add onions and sauté until tender. 
Add the garlic when the onions are turning translucent, don't burn the garlic. 
Add the ground beef to brown it. Break up the chunks with your spatula. 
Spoon off the fat
Add remaining ingredients and the beans
Heat to boiling
Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, uncovered, stir occasionally 

[Dewesq55]

Supposedly, "real"Texas chili com carne ha no beans and no tomato products. I have a recipe somewhere for "a bowl of Texas red" which follows these "rules"

[Mosca]

3 Lbs Lean Beef, course chili grind OR 1" cubes
2 TBSP Lard, Butter or Bacon Drippings
1 Lg Onion, coarsely chopped
3 Medium Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
4 TBSP Ground Hot Red Chile
4 TBSP Ground Mild Red Chile
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
3 C Water
1 1/2 Tsp Salt

Melt lard, butter or drippings in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent
In a bowl, combine the meat with the ground chiles, garlic and cumin.
Add to the pot and stir until browned
Add water and salt. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer, uncovered for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally until meat is tender and flavors are well blended.
Add water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
Serves 6

[Huskee]

I wonder what "Real just outside of Texas chili" contains?

I know one thing- real Michigan cherry pie contains no beans or tomato products either, lol

[DWCowles]

There's a Dakota's Texas style chili recipe on allrecipes.com that I'm going to make when I get home. It contains no beans or tomatoe products. I will be smoking a chuck roast to put in it.

[Dewesq55]

Here's the one I got off the internet:
“Texas Red” Chili
Serves 8; Adapted from a recipe by Homesick Texan
Ingredients:
6 dried ancho chiles
2 dried chipotle chiles
1 to 4 dried chiles japoneses (according to heat tolerance)
2 dried California chiles
4 pieces of bacon
3 pound chuck roast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of brewed coffee
1 bottle of beer
2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt, to taste
Method:
Stem the dried chiles, and shake out the seeds, tearing each chile in half as needed. Heat chiles in a dry, high-sided cast-iron skillet over medium heat, until they become fragrant. Add enough water to the skillet to cover the chiles, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and set aside to soak for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook bacon over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Transfer to paper towels to drain bacon. Working in two batches, add beef to pot to cook in the leftover bacon grease, stirring often, until brown. Remove beef (leaving drippings) and set aside. Repeat with second batch.
Add onions to pot and cook until slightly translucent. Add garlic, and cook for one minute more. Return beef to pot, and add coffee, beer, two cups of water, and the remaining dry spices. Crumble bacon into pot.
Drain soaked chiles and transfer to blender, along with a cup of water. Puree until smooth, and add to the chili pot.
When chili boils, reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for five hours, stirring occasionally. Add water (or more beer!) as needed to keep the consistency nice and loose until the last hour of cooking, when you can allow the chili to “tighten” to your liking.
Serve with cheddar, onions, sour cream, and tortillas.

[Mosca]

Even though I posted a "Texas" chili recipe above, my opinion is that anyone who formulates rules for chili... doesn't like chili. The best thing about chili is how everyone makes it differently, and almost all of the recipes are awesome.

At one time I collected chili recipes, and had almost 1000 of them, culled from cookbooks and newspaper columns. (The internet has rendered my collection useless, one Google search brings in millions of recipes.) Simple recipes are good; complex recipes are good. That is the beauty of chili.

[Dewesq55]

I was just having some fun, Mosca. Most of the time I make chili from a box and doctor it. I don't have rules either, except that I don't put beans in my chili because I don't like them.

DEW

[Mosca]

Never thought different, Dewesq55, the quotes around "real" and "rules" let me know your intent. I got the sly smile behind it, and enjoyed it.

I'm super laid back. But sometimes I think too hard, and I have a nature as an arbiter so I see too many sides of all arguments. And I post some washy washy stuff like I did. But thing is, I believe it. I'm just as likely to fire up a pot of Texas Red as I am to toss together ground beef, tomatoes, and canned beans, along with a packet of McCormick's and whatever else I can find around the kitchen; frozen corn, maybe.

It really is "all good". In the end, it either tastes good or it doesn't, and everything else is rhetoric!

[Dewesq55]

My usual chili is made with 2 lbs of ground turkey, a diced onion, a copy of minced garlic cloves, a box of Carroll Shelby's chili mix, a couple of tbsps of my homemade chili powder, a tspn our 2 of chipotle powder, Rotell hot diced tomatoes and chiles, beef broth and Fra Diavolo sauce. So I'm no purist. But occasionally, I like to make Texas Red.

[DWCowles]

As long it is meaty, spicy and hot I like it with or without beans. I don't like a soupy chili.

[Dewesq55]

I'm with you, DWC. Meaty, spicy and pretty thick.

DEW

[Rodcrafter]

I took this recipe off this site last week; Texas Style Chili Con Carne

I followed it to the letter. It is some really good chili, so far it is my favorite ever.

[Medusa]

Try using Boneless Top Chuck Steak, Blade Steak, or Chuck Eye Steak as the main meat. These cuts will be labeled as such at the grocer.

--Ed

[Mosca]

Just did this:

3lbs gr beef
2 large cans whole tomatoes
2 15oz cans kidney beans
2 green peppers
1 Spanish onion
4 cloves garlic
12oz can v8 juice
1/2 jar chili powder
Cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper to taste
Masa to thicken

I think everyone can figure out what to do! It is very good; mild, but flavorful.

[chudzikb]

I don't think I ever made chili the same way twice? And I have tried. My friends are the same way, ask for the recipe, and they just sort of look at you and say...little of this...little of that...chili. There are some basics, I have found chunked meat does make it better, at least IMHO. And venison was a great meat to add to the mix. Hot peppers in moderation, till you figure out how much heat you like. Too many and it can actually be TOO hot. At least that is what I am told.

[JeffJ]

I don't have a formal "recipe" for chili but I make it pretty much the same way. What I am about to describe is chili that I make once per year to be consumed at a Michigan football tailgate, usually late fall...

I start by dry-brining, dry-rubbing and smoking a chuck roast to medium rare. I'll also pour a large can of tomatoes into a loaf pan and smoke that as well. (If I am REALLY being extravagant I will use some quality scratch-made beef stock in lieu of the au jus I am a bout to describe) In the drip pan I will throw in a couple of beef bones, some beef base, bay leaf, salt, pepper corns, a little carrot, celery, onion and garlic as well as water. This will make a nice, slightly smokey au jus/stock that I will use in the chili. I will also puree the tomatoes and use them in the chili. The chuck will get cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes. I will also use 'cube steak' it kind of looks like a hamburger patty and it develops great texture during a long braise. If I need more meat I will just use some ground round. I will dice up REALLY small: celery, onion, poblano, garlic, jalapeño, serrano and a cherry pepper. I'll brown any unsmoked meat and will sauté the veggies, seasond with salt, pepper and oregano, that I just mentioned. I will toast until bloomed dried ancho peppers, a couple of red finger peppers, a couple of dried chipotles and a dried habanero. I will then coarsely remove the seeds and stems and grind them up in the spice grinder. I'll also grind up cumin. The entire spice medley will be mixed in with a little water and thrown on top of the veggies that are sautéing and will also be sauteed for a minute or so with a little tomato paste, to help them bloom. I'll then add the beef stock and the pureed tomatoes and a couple of bay leaves. I'll open another one of those big cans of tomatoes and will tear them apart with my hands and add them to the pot. I'll also toss in the juice. I then add the meat. In a small bowl I will mix together some worcestershire, ketchup, a little molasses and a bunch of dashes of my homemade hot sauce. Once the pot comes to a light boil and the heat is reduced to a simmer I will add the condiment medley I just described. If I need more liquid I will add a beer or 3. After it has simmered for an hour I will add some brown sugar. After it has simmered for 2 hours I will add a small amount of: salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and my hot sauce and several cans of beans: pinto, kidney, black. After 3 hours the cube steak and chuck are usually very tender. At this point if the chili is too 'soupy' and needs to be thickened a bit I will add some masa harina (corn flour) a little at a time until I reach the desired consistency.

I'll make the chili as much as a week in advance of the big day. I'll refrigerate the pot and will take it right to the tailgate and will heat the chili up on a portable grill. This chili has REALLY big flavor and it goes over extremely well.

It's a TON of work, but once per year it is truly worth it.