Texas Christmas Chili Recipes

REAL TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the beef cubes in the oil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the garlic.
• In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin and flour. Sprinkle over the meat and stir until evenly coated. Crumble the oregano over the meat and pour in 1 1/2 cans of the broth.
• Add the salt and ground black pepper, stir together well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer, partially covered for about 90 minutes. Pour in remaining broth and simmer 30 minutes more, until meat begins to fall apart. Cool, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to blend.

NINA'S TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook the steak, sausage, onion, green pepper, red, pepper, yellow pepper, and garlic in the pot until the onions and peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken bouillon, honey, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. One at a time, stir in the cayenne pepper, chili powder, oregano, black pepper, salt, and sugar. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese into the chili in small batches and stir to melt. Reduce heat to low and slow cook about 2 hours. Thicken by stirring the masa through the chili, and simmering for 10 minutes.

TRULY TEXAN CHILI

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Combine the flour, chili powder, oregano and cumin; sprinkle over meat, stirring until evenly coated. Add the broth, beans if desired, salt and pepper. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours to allow flavors to blend, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream and/or lime wedges if desired.

TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Place a Dutch oven or other large pot over medium heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the meat and sauté until browned, then transfer to a plate.
• Add the onion to the pot and stir for 1 minute. Take two large sips from the beer, and pour the rest into the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, coffee and tomato paste.
• Add the brown sugar, chile sauce, cocoa powder, hot pepper, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and kidney beans. Return the meat to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the white beans to the pot and simmer over very low heat, partly covered and stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 more hours. (Longer cooking improves the flavor.) Adjust salt and cayenne pepper as needed and serve.

TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Put the chiles on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Don't let them burn or they will turn bitter. Transfer the chiles to a medium heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let the chiles soak until softened, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Drain the chiles then remove and discard the stems. Split open each chile and scrape out the seeds with the back of your knife. Discard the seeds and transfer the chiles to a blender. Add the cumin, half of the diced onion, half of the garlic, 1/2 cup of the beef stock, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Blend, occasionally scraping down the sides of the blender, until a smooth, slightly fluid paste forms (you want to eliminate all but the tiniest bits of skin).
• Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chile paste and cook until slightly darkened, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the lard (or heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil). Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper. When the lard begins to smoke, swirl the pot to coat and add half of the beef. Cook, lowering the heat if the meat threatens to burn, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with 2 more tablespoons of the lard and the remaining beef. Set aside.
• Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon lard (or heat the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil) in the pot. Add the remaining diced onion and garlic and cook gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beef back to the pot along with any juices. Then add 2 cups water and the remaining 2 cups beef stock. Stir in the reserved chile paste and bring to a simmer over high heat, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Lower the heat to maintain the barest possible simmer (just a few bubbles breaking the surface) and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, about 2 hours.
• Thoroughly stir the masa harina, brown sugar and vinegar into the chili. Gently simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
• Serve in individual bowls with a dollop of crema, shredded cheese, white onion and a lime wedge.

TEXAS-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• Toast the chiles in a small dry saucepan over medium heat until pliable, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add 1 cup water, cover and let soften, 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Toss the meat with 2 teaspoons each salt and pepper. Brown the meat in batches, about 5 minutes; remove. Add more oil if the pot is dry. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cumin.
• Add 3 cups water, the beef broth, chile puree, meat, tortilla and brown sugar; stir. Reduce the heat, partially cover and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes. If the chili is not thick enough, uncover, increase the heat and continue to simmer. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup stock to a boil. Add chilies. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Remove and discard stems from seeds from chiles. Put chiles and soaking liquid into a food processor or blender. Cover and process until smooth., In a large bowl, combine 4 tablespoons flour , salt and pepper. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and toss to coat. , In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Brown beef in batches, adding additional oil as necessary. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add onion to same pan; cook and stir until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1-2 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups broth, stirring to loosen browed bits from pan. Stir in chile mixture. Return beef to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until beef is tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Skim fat. Stir vinegar, cilantro, brown sugar and cumin; simmer another 10 minutes. If desired, serve with tortillas, sour cream, lime wedges and additional cilantro.

CHRISTMAS CHILI

Steps:

• Place beef, onions and bell peppers in large Dutch oven.
• Sprinkle with 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, and basil.
• Using a wooden spoon, blend together and brown very slowly.
• You may drain if desired, but mine didn’t have a lot of grease, so I didn’t bother.
• Place tomatoes in food processor and process just long enough to cup up large pieces.
• Put tomatoes, beans and beer in with meat and bring to a low simmer.
• Add remaining chili and garlic powder.
• Add pepper.
• Cook slowly for at least 2 hours.
• Serve with cheese and onion.