Dad's Chili
The main secret to this recipe is to use dried chiles and whole cumin seed that are toasted and ground. The vegetable ingredients and canned tomatoes should be chopped small so that they blend smoothly into the sauce. It is important that the chili simmer at as low a heat as possible. We have tried substituting ground turkey in this dish to reduce the fat content and it just does not work. The best way to get the lowest fat content is to use ground beef that has about 20% fat and spoon off the excess fat as you brown it. We nommily make a double batch. Chili is even better the next day and freezes very well.
| 3 tablespoons | olive oil |
| 1 | large onion, minced |
| 4 cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 lb. | ground beef |
| 1 | 6 ounce can tomato paste |
| 1 1/3 cups | canned plum tomatoes |
| 1 | green pepper, minced |
| 3 cups | beef bouillon |
| 1 jalapeño | seeded & diced |
| 2 cans | pinto or kidney beans |
| 1/2 teaspoon | celery seed, crushed |
| 1/4 teaspoon | cayenne pepper |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons | cumin seed, toasted, ground |
| 3 pods | New Mexico chili, toasted, ground |
| 3 pods | ancho chili, toasted, ground (see note below) |
| 1 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
| 1 tablespoon | basil |
| 1/2 teaspoon | oregano |
| 1 tablespoon | ground coriander |
| to taste | salt and pepper |
Steps:
- Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion and salt and sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and simmer until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add meat and brown, about 8 minutes. Spoon off most of fat from mixture.
- Cut chili pods in half lengthwise. Remove seeds, stems and veins. Toast chiles, on both sides, by holding them down flat, with a spatula, in a moderate fry pan for just a minute or two on both sides until you smell the chilies. Do not burn. Toast cumin seeds in same pan for a couple of minutes. Grind the cumin seeds and chiles together in a spice grinder. Combine ground chiles mixture, celery seed, cayenne, basil, oregano and coriander. Add spices to meat mixture and sauté for two minutes.
- Add tomato paste to meat mixture and saute for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, green pepper, bouillon, jalapeno and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, until chili is as thick as desired, about 2 hours. Stir frequently.
- One-half hour prior to serving add beans. Adjust seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
Chili Note:
Ancho and New Mexico chiles are dried. You can substitute 2-4 tablespoons of chili powder for them but the taste will suffer a little.