A true, authentic Texas chili recipe
I love to buy chiles, especially when I find ones that are soft and pliant, so fresh you can imagine they were drying in a Mexican field maybe just last week.
I have to be careful, however, when shopping because my storage space is very limited. And the other day when I opened my cabinet, out came tumbling three bags of chiles that hit me on the head. I then realized that I needed to make something that would use up a lot of my supply. Fortunately, there was a big football game and nothing pleases people watching winter sports more than a big bowl of spicy red Texas chili.
Now, I’ve written about chili before and provided you with general guidelines on how I make my chili. I don’t use beans, I don’t use tomatoes but most importantly, I don’t use measurements. It works for me, but can be frustrating if you’ve never made chili and desire more strict instructions.
So for this batch, I decided to multi-task and wrote down what I was adding to the pot when I made my what I dubbed my seven-chile chili. Of course, there were a couple of mishaps—I added way too many ground cloves in the beginning and accidentally added cardamom instead of coriander during one spice addition. But the best thing about chili is that the longer it cooks, the flavors both deepen and blend into a complex dish where the sum of the bowl is greater than its parts.
People often ask if my chili is real deal Texas-style chili. I’ll say yes because I’m a Texan and it’s the chili I grew up eating. Though defining what authentic Texas chili is can be difficult. The term “chili” comes from chile con carne, which translates to peppers with meat. And that’s at heart what I make, with the addition of some spices and aromatics. But there have been some grumbles.
Some people have grumbled because there’s cinnamon and chocolate in my chili, though these flavors are commonly found in Mexican cuisine. Some people have grumbled because there aren’t tomatoes in my chili, though I don’t think that cowboys on the range had access to tomatoes all the time. And some people have grumbled because I don’t use Gebhardt’s Chili Powder, though I can’t buy that in New York and using fresh chiles will trump chili powder any day.
But no matter what people say, I love my chili and usually, those that eat it love it, too. So here is some of my chili with measurements. Enjoy!
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Seven-chile Texas chili
Ingredients
- 6 anchos, seeded and stemmed
- 2 pasilla, seeded and stemmed
- 2 costeños, seeded and stemmed
- 2 guajillos, seeded and stemmed
- 4 chiles de arbol
- 4 pieces bacon
- 4 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup brewed coffee
- 1 bottle beer
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp clove
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 2 chipotles in adobo
- Salt
- 1/4 cup masa harina
- 1/3 Mexican hot chocolate tablet, grated
Instructions
- Heat the dried chiles (anchos, pasillas, costenos, guajillos, and chiles de arbol) in a dry, cast-iron skillet on medium for a couple of minutes on each side. Turn off the heat and then add enough water to the skillet to cover the chiles, and let them soak for half an hour.
- Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven, fry up your bacon. When done, remove from pan and crumble (Don’t worry if you opt to eat a slice—you deserve it!) and leave the bacon grease in the pot (it should be about 3 tablespoons). In the pot, cook your beef in the bacon grease on medium heat, a few minutes on each side until lightly browned. You will probably have to cook these in 2 batches.
- Remove the browned beef from the pot, and add your onions. Cook on medium until clear. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Put the beef back in the pot, and mix in the coffee, the beer, water, bacon crumbles, cumin, cinnamon, clove, allspice, coriander, and cayenne. Add salt to taste and turn the heat up to high.
- Your soaking chiles should be soft by now. Drain and rinse, discarding the soaking water (it will be bitter) and place them in a blender along with the canned chipotle chiles and one cup of fresh water. Puree until nice and smooth and then add the chile puree to the chili pot.
- When chili begins to boil, turn heat down to low and let simmer for five hours, stirring occasionally. Taste it once an hour, and if the flavors are too muted, feel free to add more of any of the spices. Also, it starts to get too dry, add more liquid (your choice!).
- After 5 hours, take a Mexican hot chocolate disc, and finely grate 1/3 of it into the pot. Scoop out 1 cup of broth and add the masa harina. Mix it well and then reincorporate it back into the pot. Stir until chili is thickened.
- Let the chili simmer for another half hour or so. Taste and adjust seasonings. When done, serve with cheddar, onions and tortillas.
I’ve made this chili and it came out great
I want to make it again but I want to use a bottom round roast instead of chuck roast
Do you think it will be as good?
Frenchie–It will be a bit more lean but still as tasty if you use bottom round instead of chuck.
I used only Guajillos because that’s what I had. I left out the allspice and the Cayenne. I used a 2lb Wagu chuck roast (it was on sale) and made up the difference with pork (because budget). The Chili came out great. There was leftovers and it was even better the next day. I honestly couldn’t tell that half of the meat was pork. This recipe is a bit more exciting than what I grew up with, as none of the chili I ate growing up had cinnamon, chocolate, or cloves. I have made chili in the past that used beef heart for half of the meat and was pleasantly surprised. The strong beef flavor from beef heart is overpowering in a simple dish, but is actually pleasantly suited for a chili.
Lone Armadillo–Thank you for sharing your adaptations! I’ve never cooked with beef heart before, but now I’m intrigued!
This recipe is FABULOUS! I’m making it right now for the second time. I’m in a very small town and only had ancho, guajillo, chipotle, and arbol. It takes a long time to put together, but the end result is sooooo worth it. The first time I made it, I left the seeds in the arbol Chiles and I was the only one who ate it, it was SPICY! I loved it, but this time I made sure to remove the seeds so hopefully my Mom and stepdad will eat it as well.
I love your recipes! I was a homesick Texan in South Carolina back in 2006-2009 and your cheese enchiladas saved me and my son.
Chiara–Thank you for the kind words! I’m delighted that the recipes helped you and your son feel closer to Texas when you were away! And yes, seeds can be hot. So glad you enjoyed the chili!
Truly great recipe.
So although I’m a Swede I’ve made a few genuine American chilis. And for this one I got my hands on lots of the chiles although I had to order them online. And damn this is good! I lacked the adobe but still great. But I added two dried habaneros for an extra punch. Thankful for the lack of tomatoes and beans.
Pasilito–Thank you for the feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and were able to find most of the ingredients in Sweden!