Original Texas-Style Chili
| Cuisine of the United States | Texas cuisine
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (1.3 ) beef or other meat
- 2 oz (55 ) beef kidney suet
- 4 chile pods, skinned and blistered, or sun-dried chiles
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon crushed cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce (optional but frequently included)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped (or more, to taste)
- 2 heaping tablespoons masa harina
Instructions
- Sear beef in a little cooking oil (not lard) until lightly browned.
- Add the seared beef, suet, and chile pods to a large iron skillet or pot (at least four quarts), and enough water (the reserved "pepper water" if you prepared the pods yourself) to keep the meat from burning. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes.
- Take pot off the stove and add spices and garlic. Put back on the stove, bring to a boil again, lower heat, and simmer another hour, keeping the lid on as much as possible. Stir when necessary, but remember that too much stirring will tear the meat. Add a little more water if anything seems seriously in danger of burning (but as little water as possible).
- Take pot off the stove and skim off all or most of the grease.
- Mix in masa harina, which "tightens" or thickens the chili con carne and adds a subtle tamale-like flavor. Simmer about 30 minutes more, until meat is done. Do a lot of tasting during this time, (1) to adjust the seasoning, and (2) just because a chili cook should do a lot of tasting.