Mostly Meat Chili

I do not make chili nearly as often as I ought, though the reason may be that I do not know how often that is. Seeing as how I received a new pot from my parents for Christmas perfect for chili preparation, I saw no excuse outside of laziness to not shut myself in on this snow covered day and prepare a pot of chili.
The weekend exposes a fine opportunity to make large quantities of freezable food, facilitating quick meals throughout the week. Chili sets me up especially well for chili-mac, a favorite of mine since our first encounter at Steak n Shake.  My chili however typically falls short of expectations leaving me continuously searching for innovations in the recipe. Today, my root recipe consisted largely of meat which was a departure from the norm as I am used to beans in my chili.  I have however heard rumor that proper chili goes without.

Browning in the new pot

The recipe started with ground beef and sausage, two and one pounds respectively.  Both browned and set aside.  Next a white onion, finely chopped, was also browned to an extent. Interestingly it was not long ago that I was rather timid about my browning. Fearing overcooking I would stir too often and pull food from the heat before the fruits of the act could ripen. It was not until I saw an episode of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef concerning the subject that I realized the loss of flavor I had brought upon myself.

Once the onions were done, all other ingredients were added. This included a bottle of beer, a cup of water, beef bouillon, four cloves of garlic, an 8oz can tomato sauce, half a can of tomato paste, 3T chili powder, 2T cumin, 2t paprika, 2t oregano, 2t sugar, 1t coriander, 1t unsweetened cocoa, and a few spritzes of Louisiana hot sauce.

Tonight's beer of choice

Cooking sealed over low heat I checked in on things every thirty minutes to make sure matters were not progressing too rapidly while ensuring they were in fact progressing at all.  Two hours in I removed the lid and added a water, cornmeal, and flour (gluten free flour) mixture to thicken things up.  I'm not sure if this was necessary and I've never added a thickener like this to chili before, but the root recipe called for it and I figured I would see what difference it made, though, not having made this recipe without the addition I do not have a basis for comparison.

Regardless, another 30 minutes of cooking uncovered resulted in an incredibly rich and flavorful dish.  The meat, when originally served, was still in chunks larger than I like to see in a bowl of chili.  This I remedied with a potato masher.  Normally when making chili I add spice throughout the process (a trick I learned watching some chili cookoffs on Food Network) however this time I am glad I didn't, because the heat and spice rendered quite adequately.  All in all, reasonable success, though I'm still convinced I could do better.  We will see how it fairs in the context of mac later this week.

The finished product

DnL8Tar

-PCM-

Summer Stew with a Kick

On a hot 90 day, there's nothing better than a bowl of piping hot beef stew. Wait, what?!

I surprised even myself when those words came out of my mouth on a hot June day. Others might turn around a 2lb beef round roast into something that meets the typical summer fare; but for those of us that can't get enough crock pot action in the summer, this is the perfect recipe to sit and sweat like a dirty migrant farmer . With margarita in hand, I browned the entire hunk of beef in my classically seasoned cast iron pan (by classic, I mean my girlfriend won't eat anything that's been cooked in it). It was a good idea at the time; if anything, to seal in the seasoning (sea salt and cracked pepper). After a quick sear on all sides, I cut it down to stew-sized pieces and threw it in the CP with a package of beef stock and assorted vegetables. I went with some carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, lima beans and of course, potatoes. Next time I'd like to switch out the celery with some mild peppers. Tomato wouldn't be bad; even a tomatillo, if I kept with the theme. Don't add more water -- the vegetables are going to sweat worse than you in about 8 hours. If you need liquid, add tequila, it tastes much better.

Next up, a little spice.

I added some finely chopped jalapenos in a pan with some hot olive oil to open up that pep. After a minute, I dumped a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce into the pan for some quick heat (less than 15 seconds). After throwing that mixture into the CP, I simmered on low for about 7 hours, stirring occasionally -- shots of tequila more frequent. Right before turning it off, I whisked up a quick roux (half cup fat of choice, half cup flour, and a dash of paprika) and stirred it into the stew. I blended up another margarita, cranked up the AC, and sat down to a killer meal.