There are tons of different chili recipes and methods on the web which can be confusing but also serves as a reminder that the dish is a grab bag based on available ingredients and shaped to individual tastes. There are a thousand different ways to prepare and enjoy chili — you can’t really go wrong, and you can have fun finding what you like.
Chili has an interesting history of its own that I didn’t know much about until writing this post. Rather like spaghetti sauce, it didn’t have much of a role in my own family — I don’t think Mom ever prepared it on her own, though every once in a while it appeared out of a can or adapted into Sloppy Joes.
I became fond of chili and started experimenting with making it once I was on my own during and after college. I think Fred and Louise made it sometimes because I associate it with watching Redskins games with them on Sundays, but I don’t really think I learned cooking it from them. Instead, it was more a matter of finding basic recipes from cookbooks or packets of chili seasonings and going from there. For a while it was a dish Barb would eat if I made it mild and she could use it as a vehicle for shredded cheese and sour cream. I always wanted to make it more spicy, however, and eventually I ended up making it more for myself than anyone.
All of this preamble is a way to say that you can make chili pretty much any way you want, and the fun is figuring out your own tastes and preferences. I’ve included three basic variants below, but the truth is whenever I make chili it’s somewhere between any one of these recipes. Chili is good the first day (be sure to simmer at least a couple of hours to develop the flavors) and even better the second. It also freezes well to be used later. Make a big pot and enjoy it for a long while.
Basic Chili Con Carne
I searched our cookbooks and the web to find a recipe close to one I started from as a baseline. I haven’t found one that I definitely used, but this one from the Food Network is pretty close to where I started. It’s very simple and nowadays a little more boring than what I would want, but it’s a good starting point.
From the looks of it, this recipe would probably net you something like Wendy’s chili or something you’d get from a can. I would make it more interesting by adding beef chunks a la Texas Chili (and less ground beef), some sausage or chorizo, several types of peppers including jalapeno, cubanelle and whatever else is in the store (not the super hot ones, though), and one or two chopped onions (start cooking the onions before the beef). I’d also use a lot more cumin, cayenne and chili powder…maybe double these amounts.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup masa harina (or cornmeal, say I — masa harina is more authentic and probably better, but cornmeal is easier to find)
One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Directions:
Place the ground beef in a large pot and throw in the garlic. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain off the excess fat (I don’t usually do that anymore — keep that fat in it, I say), and then pour in the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne. Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add 1/2 cup water at a time as needed.
After an hour, place the masa harina (or cornmeal) in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and stir together with a fork. Dump the masa mixture into the chili. Stir together well, and then taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more masa paste and/or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency, or to add more corn flavor. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with shredded Cheddar, chopped onions, tortilla chips and lime wedges.
Texas Chili
Somewhere along the way, I learned that Texas Chili does not use beans or tomatoes — it just focuses on the beef and the chili peppers. I tried several versions and, while the Texas Chilis were tasty and had their merits, I still like having beans in my chili. This recipe from Chili Pepper Madness seems like a good representative of Texas Chili. The method of using well-seasoned cubes of chuck roast is worth noting. I still use that as a base. On the other hand, I’ve never messed around with dried chili peppers or making a chili paste — I just use fresh peppers and lots of chili powder. I’m sure the dried chili paste adds a deeper, more complex flavor but I’ve never been comfortable using them or a blender so I avoid it.
Ingredients
- 3 ancho peppers
- 3 pasilla peppers
- 3 New Mexican dried peppers (Note: I don’t mess with the dried ancho, pasilla or New Mexican peppers, but I’m not at all an authentic Southwestern cook. I mainly use fresh peppers I can find in the store and lots of chili powder…which you see are not included in this recipe)
- 2.5 pounds beef chuck cut into bite-sized cubes
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 3 jalapeno peppers chopped
- 2 serrano peppers chopped (optional for extra heat – use extra jalapenos for milder)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 cups beef stock or use a dark beer
- 2.5 cups water + more as needed (or use chicken or beef stock, or beer)
- 2 tablespoons masa harina corn flour, for thickening, if desired
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- FOR SERVING: Chopped onion, spicy chili flakes, freshly chopped cilantro, lime wedges, crema or sour cream, Fritos or tortilla chips, whatever else you desire
Directions:
- Start your chili paste first by lightly toasting the dried peppers in a dry pan about a minute or 2 per side. This will help to release the oils.
- Remove from heat and cool enough to handle. Remove the stems and pour out the seeds.
- Soak the peppers in hot water for 20 minutes, or until they are nice and soft.
- Add them to a food processor with 1/2 to 1 cup of the soaking water and a bit of salt to taste. Process until nice and smooth. Set aside for now.
- Add the cubed beef to a large bowl and toss with the cumin and a bit of salt and pepper. Make sure everything is nice and coated.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot and add the seasoned beef. Cook 6-7 minutes, searing the beef all over. Remove the beef and set aside.
- Add the remaining olive oil along with the jalapenos, serranos and onion. Cook them down about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir. Cook another minute.
- Return the beef to the pot and stir in the reserved chili paste. Cook it for 2-3 minutes to let the flavor develop a bit.
- Stir in the beef broth (or beer), 2 cups of water, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and masa and bring to a quick boil. If you are using the optional additions (see my NOTES above), add them in now.
- Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender. It could take longer if you are using tougher cuts of beef (see NOTES above). Give it a stir once every 30 minutes or so. If it becomes too thick, add in a ¼ cup of water and stir. Thicken with more masa.
- Serve with your favorite fixins!
White Chili
For one of the few New Years open house parties we threw at Pfefferkorn, I conjured up a White Chili that came out pretty tasty. Faith Spiezman actually liked it and asked for the recipe, so I put this together. I haven’t made it again in a long time, but it was nice — lighter and fresher than the other chilis above.
Ingredients:
1 - 1.5 lb ground turkey
1 - 1.5 lb turkey or chicken sausage, spiced or flavored OK
(cook the sausage first, then slice it relatively thin)
1 - 2 yellow onions, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 - 4 scallions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 or 2 other mild-medium peppers, usually cubanelle or whatever looks interesting
1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans black-eyed peas
(optional) 1 - 2 cans other beans (navy, white, light red...)
1 tsp or so ground cumin
1/2 tsp (or more) cayenne pepper
2 tbs olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 bottle beer (any light-colored kind -- lager, etc.)
Directions:
Cook the sausage first and slice, remove from pot or do it separately
Lightly cook the yellow onions and garlic in oil until soft
Add the ground turkey, brown
Add other onions and peppers, let soften
Add spices (cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper)
Add beans and cooked sausage
Add 1/3 cup cilantro
Add beer and water to cover
Let it simmer for at least an hour, 2 or 3 is better (the longer the
better, add water if needed), stir occasionally
About 20 minutes before serving add 1/3 cup cilantro
Save the last 1/3 cup cilantro to garnish in bowls when served
Also can garnish with chopped green or red onions, cheese, lime wedges, sour cream or
hot sauce