“Chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak, apologetic imitation of the real thing. One of the first things I do when I get home to Texas is to have a `bowl of red’. There is simply nothing better.”
Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States.
Chili con carne was introduced to San Antonio by Spanish soldiers in the 1880s. Entrepreneurial Hispanic woman in brightly colored dresses called “Chili Queens” would ladle chili from big kettles they would cart around the city.
This recipe is one of the hundreds of “award winning” bowls of chili. Like LBJ’s, it happily breaks many of the rules for authentic Texas red (no fillers like beans, tomatoes or onions) to make an “Award Winning” Texas-style chili.
Texas Chili con Carne (Chili with Meat)
Traditional Texas chili uses finely chopped beef steak, never ground meat. Roughly chopping meat in a food processor or running meat through the large grind of a meat grinder will do the trick. It'll be well worth the effort. Serve with cornbread and side bowls of chopped onion, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream or even red kidney beans.
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Servings: 6
Equipment
- Large pot
- Medium frying pan
- Food processor or meat grinder attachment to a stand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 medium Onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Olive or vegetable oil
- 1½ tbsp Chili powder (Gebhart's or other)
- 1 tsp Dark chili powder
- 3 lb Beef chuck steak, chili grind (¼-inch cubes)
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 cup Beef broth
- 4 oz Bulk pork sausage or Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 medium Jalapeno or serrano chile, trimmed and minced
- ½ tsp Hot New Mexico chili powder
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- ½ cup Oregano tea (1 tbsp oregano steeped for 30 minutes in ½ cup boiling hot water)
- ½ tsp Ground coriander
- 6 oz Can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 dash Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- In large pot over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in oil, about 3 minutes. Mix in chili powders and turn off heat.
- In a separate frying pan or wok over medium-high heat, brown beef 1 pound at a time with a dash of pepper. Scoop with a slotted spoon into pot with onions. Repeat 2 more times, adding a little water to keep from sticking.
- In same pan, saute sausage and minced jalapeno pepper about 3 minutes, breaking up sausage. Scoop into pot with onions and meat. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add New Mexico chili powder, cumin, coriander, tomato, and remaining beef broth. Cook 30 minutes
- Add oregano tea, cover, and cook over low heat for 2 hours. With 20 minutes left, add salt, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce. Serve hot in bowls with side bowls of shredded cheddar cheese, red kidney beans, chopped onions, and cornbread
Notes
- Chili can be refrigerated for days and frozen for months.
- For fun, Texas chili legend Wick Fowler would throw in a handful of whole hot red peppers just to make his chile look dangerous. Uncut, they wouldn’t add any extra heat to the dish but man, do they look intimidating.
Nutrition
Calories: 544kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 1290mg | Potassium: 951mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 103IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 6mg
