A Texas Chili

I decided to take my new chili powder for a test drive. The easiest way to do that is take a known chili recipe and make it with the new powder. I have been making the following chili recipe for years and years. I simplified it a little for non-freak usage and to avoid giving away all of my secrets. I'll use this recipe when I am testing new powders. Notice the lack of beans. Add them if you like but I was hungry for something a little different.

A Texas Chili

Meat Base
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound pork, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 (14-ounce) can beef broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 T dried minced onions

Spice Hit One:
1 T onion powder
2 T garlic powder
1 t pepper
2 t chicken bouillon
2 t beef bouillon

Spice Hit Two:
6 T home made chili powder
2 t garlic powder
2 t ground cumin
1 t brown sugar
1 healthy squirt ketchup (Hunt's not Heinz)
1/4 t MSG

Spice Hit Three:
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
2 t home made chili powder
1 1/2 t ground cumin


Brown the beef and pork in the olive oil in a cast iron Dutch oven. Add the rest of the beef base ingredients and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Add spice hit one simmer for 30 more minutes. Add spice hit two and cook for 20 more minutes. Add spice hit three and simmer 10 more minutes. You want to be able to stick a spoon into the finished chili and have it stand up by itself at the end of cooking. At some points during the cooking you may need to add a little water to thin it out a bit.

Check out that photo - spoon stands up!

Tricks:
Partially freeze the beef and pork, it is easier to cut that way.

Adding the spices in batches over time helps the meat accept it's final spiciness a little better. You don't want to cram all the spices in at once because the meat will get angry. You want happy meat, not angry meat. You want to ease the spices in over time. Pretty soon the meats will be spicy and tasty and happy.

Make the spices up in batches ahead of times. It makes things go quicker.

Dried minced onions: