Chili Con Carne
Out of all of the truly American dishes, none have produced as many arguments as chili. The dish known as chili is believed to originate from a field dish consumed on the Chisolm Trail that needed to use bad cuts of beef. The dried beef would be mixed with suet, dried chili peppers (theorized to be chilipiquenes), and salt which would be pounded together and left to be dried in bricks. These were carried along the trail and boiled in pots over fires.
The dish has evolved over the years. But ultimately the major flavor profile consists of the chilies and the meat. With this in mind we approach the reason why most homemade chili is doomed before it even starts. Bad chilies.
Store bought chili powder has all the taste of sawdust and the heat of a burnt out light bulb. God knows what they put in it and you have no control over the flavor profile you introduce into it. It the equivalent of drinking premade cocktails that are sold in six packs.
Here we start with the essential components. A variety of dried chilies are selected to add a variety of flavors as well as heat profiles. They are chopped up and placed in a cast iron along with whole cumin seeds in order to let them brown a bit. After this they are introduced to a blender along with dried oregano, dried basil, onion and garlic powder. They are blended into a powder and set aside.
If you did all of the above congratulations you are on the road to decent chili. Obviously you can alter the flavor and heat level from barely hot to weaponized mace depending on the chilies that you put into it.
Once the powder is complete we then proceed to roasting the raw chilies. You simply turn on your broiler, place the chilies on a pan, and let them scorch until the skin starts to turn black. A good move is to chop in half and remove all the seeds before you roast them.
Once you have blackened the hell out of those peppers you need to peel the skin off of them. The easiest way to do this is to place them on a plate and put a tight fitting bowl above them. The heat from the betters will steam them a little bit and make the skin pull away from the fruit. Simply peel it off and set the peppers aside in a large bowl.
Next we sauté half of bulb of garlic, one half of a white onion chopped, and a shallot bulb, chopped as well. Sauté in the same cast iron you roasted the dried peppers in until translucent. Add to the vegetable bowl along with 2-16 oz cans of good quality diced tomatoes and one or two minced chipotle peppers with the accompanying adobe sauce.
Lightly oil the meat (here three pounds of stew beef and pork) with neutral-tasting oil and salt it as well. Once done, brown the meat in the cast iron pot in batches to avoid crowding. Once this is done deglaze the bottom of pot with flavorfully liquid. The traditional one is one beer, but other things such as tequila or red wine may be utilized as well. Allow to boil for about half a minute and proceed to scrape the bottom of the pan to introduce the fond produced by the browning of the meat.
Once this is complete add the meat, vegetables, and chili powder into the pot. Here I also added half a bar of chocolate to mellow of the heat and add a new note of flavor into the dish. Place in 300 degree oven and allow to sit covered by the lid for six hours.
Once six hours are up, remove from oven. Utilizing a spoon such as a ladle, skim off any fat that has accumulated on the surface of the dish. Mix with a bit of flour and beat with a whisk to form a roux to thicken the chili even further. Reintroduce the roux into the pot, mix and place back in the oven for half an hour.
Now the chili is done and you have a delicious dish that will last you for days. Always remember that chili tastes much better several days after it is made.
