Superchili!

posted August 18, 2009
  by Josh Gunn, Bachelor Chow

As I've written before, every time I move to a new state I attempt to master the local cuisine. I grew up on Georgia soul food, so I have the collards and deep-fried this-and-that down.

When I moved to Minnesota, mastering the cuisine was something of a challenge since, well, since there really isn't one. Cooking authentic Minnesotan meant you went to the state fair for fried cheese curds (something you can't really do at home). It also meant that I tried my hand at Thai and Indian food (since I don't do Lutefisk, and "hot dishes" or casseroles are antithetical to my cooking philosophy).

When I moved to Louisiana, I spent three years perfecting my gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya recipes (all of which I am proud of).

Having lived in Texas for four years now, I've been working on my Tex Mex. As some of you know, this summer I decided I would experiment with making chili.

I know, I know: chili in the summer? I realize it's been triple digits for the last three months, but I see no written rule about avoiding hot peppers (I mean, jalapenos and other peppers tend to grow well in the hot months anyway). And besides, I'm making the chili to put on my delicious Tex Mex Chili Dogs. Summer is for chilidogs, right? Right. At least that's my reasoning and I'm stickin' to it.

I tried a number of recipes, mostly from Texas-specific cookbooks I purchased when I moved here. By combining what I liked and taking out what I didn't (e.g., tomatoes), I came up with this recipe, which is pretty tasty.

But I didn't stop exploring, and owing to my love of complicated recipes, I came across Lisa's "A More Precise Texas Chili Recipe" over at The Homesick Texan blog http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/ (she has lots of excellent recipes, too). I liked her combination of dried peppers in the chili, so I made it. It was a delicious chili, but sweeter and akin to a chili mole sauce (replete with the chocolate) rather than the spicy hot chili that so impressed me at an end-of-the-school year potluck in May. But I liked the darker look of this chili and the complexity of its smoky, dried pepper taste.

Then, of course, it donned on me to combine my standard recipe with Lisa's. I would make a . . . [don don da don!] SUPERCHILI! I carefully combined ingredients, trying out the different flavors. I couldn't find many of the peppers she used in her recipe, so I made a few substitutions. The first attempt at combination went well, although the chili came out slightly bitter and a little too sweet: I used Negro Modelo for the beer, which I think was a bit too dark, and too much chocolate. So, I changed the beer, nixed the coffee, and pulled back on the chocolate and, wallah! Baby Bear's SUPERCHILI was achived.

I'm going to share the SUPERCHILI recipe, however, just a few more comments before I let this amazing recipe loose upon the world. First: the flavors are complex and multiple, not singular in tone. If you don't like a lot of things going on in your chili, this recipe is not for you—go for the first one I mentioned above.

Second: it's not very good on the first day. This has something to do with the complexity of the flavors and the mellowing that happens the longer the chili sits. Owing to the dried peppers, the chili is slightly bitter the first day, but is less so the next day, and so on. Make it a day or two ahead of when you plan to use it. I've found after it sits in the fridge for three days it is simply divine.

Finally, a little bit of the Mexican chocolate goes a long way. I know it's tempting to think that more chocolate is better---I mean, it's chocolate! But don't give into temptation; only use a little bit and make you a cup of hot chocolate with the remainder.


Dr. Bachelor's Superchili Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 6
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 8 ancho chilies
* 8 chilies of various types owing to preference (pasilla, guajillos, etc.)
* 4 slices bacon
* 2 1/2 pounds (or so) chili meat or lean ground beef (93% lean)
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 1 1/2 cup Bloody Mary mix (Zing Zing or similar)
* 1 pint lighter beer, like Corona
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 medium green pepper, chopped
* 8 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon ground oregano (or more, to taste)
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 5 tablespoons quality chili powder (or more, to taste)
* salt (to taste)
* 4 jalapeno or Serrano peppers, chopped (or more, to taste)
* 1/4 Mexican Hot Chocolate tablet, grated

***Optional***

* 2 tablespoons Masa Harina, dissolved in
* 2 tablespoons water

***Toppings***

* shredded cheddar cheese
* green onions, chopped
* pico de gallo
* cubed avocado

First, you have to prepare you chilies: in a large, cast iron skillet heat your chilies on all sides, charring them. You may want to do this outside on your grill, because charring chilies makes a lot of smoke (which then sets off the alarms, gets your dog barking like crazy, neighbors show up at your door, etc.).

Once they're charred all over, cover them with water and let them soak. Some of them might want to float, so you can put another pot on top of them to "press them down" into the water.

Now, while your peppers are soaking, in a Dutch oven cook the bacon until it is crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon to drain on a paper towel. Add a little olive oil to the bacon fat and brown the beef (10-15 minutes); while its browning, salt and add chili powder to the beef. Crumble the bacon up into little pieces and put back into the beef.

After the beef has browned, remove from the oven, add some more olive oil, and sauté your onion, green pepper, and garlic in the remaining oil until tender.

Once the beef is browned, pour in the beer and the tomato sauce and simmer. Add the sautéed veggies and the rest of the dried ingredients, including the jalapenos. Warning: not all peppers are made the same; determine how hot yours are and add only for the degree of spiciness you like. If you don't like too much heat, remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers. CAREFUL: don’t touch your nose or eyes when cutting jalapenos, and wash your hands rigorously afterward.

Now, your peppers are probably good and soaked. Drain the water from them, remove their woody stems, and put them--seeds and all--into a blender. Add about a cup of water and puree the peppers. You should have a thick reddish pasted. Stir this stuff into the chili.

Now, once all the ingredients are in your Dutch oven or large pot, simmer for about five hours on low heat. If you would like a thicker, creamy texture to the final product, you can add the Masa Harina (or even flour) close to the end, which will act as a thickening agent.

Serve topped with cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, a dollop of sour cream, some pico, and maybe even avocado cubes! Or better, use this chili for a chilidog or chili cheese omelet! Now that's SUPER!

Recipe serves 6-12, depending on your use.

©2009 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
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