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An attempt at a Definitive Chili Recipe

This recipe, which I am calling “Master’s Chili”, is based on the collective experience my roommates and I have gained through all the pots of chili we cooked over the course of this year. It’s a real-as-hell Texas chili, which means it forgoes beans as well as tomatoes, and pretty much anything else that isn’t beef or some kind of spice. This should make about 8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs stew meat
• ~3 cups beer and/or beef stock
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• olive oil
• 10-12 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 of an onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/2 lb serrano peppers, diced
• 1 or 2 habanero peppers, diced

for chili powder:

• 6 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 6 dried cascabel chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 6 dried arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 4 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
• 4 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Place all the dried chiles and the whole cumin into a nonstick saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, moving the pan around constantly, until you begin to smell the cumin toasting, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside and let cool completely.

Once cool, move to the carafe of a blender along with the garlic powder, oregano, and paprika. Process until a fine powder is formed. Do not remove the lid of the blender. Set aside.

Divide beef into two portions and toss each with 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp kosher salt (Or do it all together if you have a big enough bowl).

Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.

Brown entire stockpile of beef in batches according to how much the skillet can hold at a time. Transfer each batch to the slow cooker after browning.

After the last of the beef has been browned and added to the pot, reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and add the onion. Sweat it briefly. Stir in the ground cumin, chiles, garlic, and the blended chili powder. If you have any dried chiles left over from making the chili powder, you can cut a few of those up and add it to the mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Add the beer/stock and molasses and simmer for another 5 minutes, constantly stirring and scraping the buildup off of the bottom and sides of the pan. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours. After cooking, move to refrigerator and let sit overnight.