Regarding Texas Red Chili, one thing that is not debatable is the original chili started off as Chili Con Carne (chili with meat) and it started off in the Southwest. Chili was about the meat and the flavors from the chilis. There were no fillers such as beans, noodles or rice. Today the Original Terlingua International Chili Cookoff doesn’t allow them either so you can taste the chili and the meat.

Chili is even the State Dish of Texas – 1977.

NOTES:
– Use 4-5 ancho and around 12 guajillo chilis – don’t go by weight
– Save the chili water to thin out the chili while cooking – that roux is pretty thick. Probably used 2-4 cups
– Cook the chili around 6 hours or so. Partially cover the pot, and stir occasionally and add the chili water
– Use a combo of 32 oz of beef and chicken broths
– That’s a lot of flour – may want to decrease that and use masa harina instead of flour or a combo
– Freeze-dried chilis seem to work – serranos can be spicy – maybe use a chipotle or 2

Serves over 4

meatchurch.com

INGREDIENTS
3-4 lbs of stew meat, cubed (sub chuck roast, brisket or game meat)
5 oz dried ancho chili (~4 chilis)
16 oz dried guajillo chili (~12 chilis)

1st spice dump:
2 Tbl garlic powder
2 Tbl onion powder
1 Tbl black pepper
3 cubes of beef bouillon
2 packets of Sazon Goya Coriander & Annatto (or whatever amount of coriander you want)

2nd spice dump:
1 Tbl Cumin
½ tsp Mexican Oregano (sub regular oregano)

Other:
16 oz of chicken broth/stock
16 oz of beef broth/stock
3 serrano peppers, whole
½ Cup flour
2 Tbl, lard (manteca), sub ¼ C, olive oil
3 cloves garlic
½ Tbl salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare your spice dumps:
Mix spice dumps #1 and #2 and set aside.

Prepare the chilis:
Stem and seed the all the dried chilis. Place in a skillet on medium high heat and toast the chilis. Flip and stir until fragrant. Remove chilis and place in boiling water. Once chilis are soft, remove from the water and set aside.

Prepare the chili:
In a hot skillet, heat ¼ cup of olive oil until it fries a pinch of flour. Mix in ½ C of all-purpose flour and stir vigorously.

Once it gets to a golden color, add a 16oz of chicken stock to this blonde roux and bring to a simmer.

Now add the roux, chilis, 3 cloves of garlic and a ½ T of salt to a blender and blend until smooth. This is now your chili sauce. Set aside.

Brown the meat:
Add some lard or olive oil to a dutch oven or heavy cast iron skillet. Brown the cubes of meat over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes. Brown in 2 batches if necessary, so as not to overcrowd the pan. Drain off excess grease.

Reduce heat to medium and add your chili sauce and beef stock. If you used a cast iron skillet you will need large pot to continue.

Cook the chili:
Add spice dump #1. Then float the serrano peppers.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for 45 minutes.

Add spice dump #2. At this stage taste test it.

Simmer for at least another hour stirring occasionally. The chili will be “done” at this point although you can simmer it all day.

Remove from the heat. Enjoy

Here’s another version from the same company – they were plugging their spice mix

Makes around 7 quarts

meatchurch.com

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs of ground meat (Venison also great, Matt’s fav)
1 lb of HOT breakfast sausage
1 lb of chuck roast (Alternatively Matt loves using brisket, venison medallions or quarters.) This ingredient is key to making it hearty.
3 medium red onions, chopped
1 head of garlic, minced (sub 3 T Spice World Ready to Use garlic)
2, 28oz can crushed tomatoes with juice
1, 28oz Italian Style diced tomatoes with juice
1 7oz can Chipotles in Adobo Sauce, chopped. Preserve the liquid.
2 Beers. 1 for the chili and 1 to drink while you’re making it.
6 T Meat Church Texas Chili Seasoning. This is a great heat level, but back it down to 4-5 T for Mild. Add 1-2 T more for even spicier or add 2 T cayenne pepper.

Garnish
Shredded Cheese
Fresh Jalapeños
Chopped White Onions

Tools
Large Slow Cooker or Dutch oven. We make ours in a Lodge 7 qt dutch oven.
Large Skillet (to sauté the veg)
1/3 C, Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the chili:
Add the olive oil to a very large skillet. I prefer cast iron. Sauté the onions, garlic and adobo peppers (including all the liquid from the can [that can be a lot of heat]). This is a lot of onion, so you may have to cook in 2 batches if you don’t have a really large skillet.

Cook for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Remove from skillet and place the mixture in your slow cooker or dutch oven.

Dice the chuck roast into small pieces. Brown the meat in the same skillet. We are going to simmer this chili all day so you just need to brown it and get some char on the outside. Remove from skillet and place the meat in your slow cooker or dutch oven.

Cook the ground meat and breakfast sausage completely in the same skillet. Drain the fat and place all of the meat in the slow cooker or dutch oven.

Mix the chili:
By this time you already have the meat, onions, garlic and adobo peppers in your slow cooker or dutch oven. Now add the 3 cans of tomatoes with the juice, 1 beer and 6 T of Meat Church Texas Chili Seasoning. Mix thoroughly.

Cook the chili:
The ingredients are already cooked at this point, [stick a whole jalapeño in the middle of chili] but we will simmer this chili all day to break down the meat and meld the flavors together.

If you are using a slow cooker you can run this 6 – 8 hours on low. Stir it periodically throughout the day if you can.

If you want to smoke this chili you can run it at 250 degrees in a smoker or pellet grill for 6-8 hours. I leave the lid off for 4-5 hours stirring on the hour. I cover the last couple hours.

Remove from the heat. Allow it to cool. Garnish and enjoy with some cornbread!

Beef suet [use lard] and masa give this Texas chili its distinctive flavor. For a true taste of this state dish skip the beans and tomatoes.

Serves 6

saveur.com

INGREDIENTS
6 oz. beef suet, coarsely chopped [use appropriate amount of lard]
3 lb. trimmed beef chuck, cut into ½-in. pieces
6 tbsp. chili powder
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup masa harina
4 cups beef stock or low-sodium beef broth, warm
3 tbsp. white vinegar
Cayenne pepper
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Tabasco, for serving
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
Tabasco, for serving
Saltines, for serving
Sour cream, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
In a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, melt the suet, stirring frequently, 8–9 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to discard any solids. Working in batches if necessary, add the chuck and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 8–10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and stir in the chili powder, garlic, and salt and black pepper to taste. Add the masa harina and stir to coat, then gradually pour in the broth, vinegar, and 4 cups of water. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the meat begins to fall apart, about 4 hours, adding water as needed to prevent sticking. Season with additional salt, black pepper, and cayenne to taste.

To serve, ladle the chili into bowls and garnish with the cilantro and scallions. Accompany with Tabasco, saltines, and sour cream.

Beer, chocolate, lard and masa harina are critical ingredients – no beans!

[Stock photo]

From Michael Chiarello:

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds beef chuck
Freshly ground black pepper
Gray salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon ground cumin, plus 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 tablespoons
Masa harina (Mexican corn flour)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lard (Manteca)
4 red onions, peeled and minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 jalapeno peppers, sliced thin with seeds, stems removed [use chipotle in adobo – watch amount]
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 to 3 (12-ounce) bottles beer
1 (12-ounce) can diced tomato in juices
1 quart chicken stock
3 (12-ounce) cans black beans
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into large chunks

INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the chuck into ¾-inch pieces, or, to save time, have your butcher do this for you. Place the chuck in a large bowl. Season liberally with pepper (about 20 turns of the pepper grinder) and grey salt to taste– remember half of this will come off in the pan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, and 2 tablespoons of the chili powder. Mix this well and coat the meat with the masa harina (this is a ground hominy flour common to Mexican cuisine and easily found in the Mexican food sections of many grocery stores). The flour will thicken the sauce and give it a specific, Mexican taste.

Preheat a cast iron Dutch oven on the stove over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and then the coated meat, spreading it evenly so it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven in 1 layer. Leave it alone, without turning it, so the meat will brown and caramelize. Meanwhile, add the lard. The meat has a lot of moisture in it, so a good amount of steam will come from the pan before it is caramelized. As it browns, slowly turn each piece with tongs. Once all sides are caramelized, remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a cookie sheet to cool, leaving juices in the Dutch oven to saute vegetables. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat until they start to caramelize and get soft. Add the jalapenos and allow to cook for 2 more minutes until soft. Add the tomato paste. Some of the same spices as were used on the meat will be used in the sauce. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, the oregano, and 2 heaping tablespoons of the chili powder. Add beer. Stir to incorporate everything. Add diced tomatoes, and stir. Then add the reserved meat. Add chicken stock. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours until meat is wonderfully tender. Strain juice from the black beans, add the beans to the chili pot and bring up to simmer. Then add chunks of bittersweet chocolate. Stir until it melts. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days