those are good recommendations, as is the one about dumping the beans. of course, as a native texan i’ve never regarded any sort of beans as an ingredient in chili. i have three or four chili recipes but my personal favorite takes my two favorite versions of chili–texas red chili stew and new mexican green chili–and blends them into a unified pot of chili.
the texas red starts earliest because it takes the longest cooking time.
in a crock pot set to high, i have
1 large can diced tomatoes, 2 medium white onions, coarsely chopped, i jalapeno pepper finely diced, and 2 medium carrots cut in half lengthwise and then thinly sliced into semicircles, 1 package of williams chili seasoning, and 1 scant teaspoon of sugar.
then i take a top sirloin roast which i trim and cut into half inch cubes, around 1.5-2 pounds. i liberally coat the cubes with coarse cracked black pepper, white pepper, and salt and then sear the cubes in a dry skillet until it gets a nice brown color. i generally split the meat into thirds to make the searing easier. i pour each pan of meat into the crock pot. after adding the last of the meat i pour a quart of beef stock (i tend to use kitchen basics brand) into the skillet and turn up to high until the stock is boiling and reduced by about 10% constantly stirring and pulling any bits of meat off the skillet. Pour into the crockpot and stir well. Then take 4-6 dried ancho chili pods, destemmed and wrapped in cheesecloth and place so that they are completely submerged in the crock pot. leave on high for one hour then turn to low. this can cook 4-6 hours as desired. remove the cheesecloth pouch with the pods and empty the pods into a blender. blend to a smooth looking puree adding stock from the crockpot as needed to achieve texture. pour the puree into the crockpot, stir well, and cover.
on to the green chili–
in a very large dutch oven or boiler add one large can of rotel diced tomatoes, 8 cans of chopped green chiles, 2 heaping tablespoons of ancho chili powder, 1 heaping tablespoon of paprika, one heaping teaspoon of roasted cumin powder, and one finely minced clove of garlic. stir well, bring up to a boil then turn down to medium low for a simmer.
next, take a little more than one pound each of ground chuck and ground sirloin and mix together. i salt and pepper the meat in similar fashion to how i did the cubed roast and then brown the meat in a skillet. depending on the leanness of the ground chuck is i will either add a little beef tallow or kidney suet to the pan or i will dab up some excess fat with a couple of folded paper towels. when the meat is thoroughly browned pour it into the pot with the green chiles. then take 2 cups of a mexican lager beer (i generally prefer corona familiar) and pour into the skillet. bring to a boil and reduce by about a fourth then pour into the pot. stir well, then make sure you have a low simmer and let cook for 2 hours. about an hour into this turn off the crockpot and let stand for an hour.
the meeting of the white nile and the blue nile . . . wait the meeting of the red chili and the green chili.
correct seasoning of each pot to taste. at this point you have a perfectly acceptable pot of new mexico style green chili and a pot of texas style red chili. what comes next combines them into a dish that i find extraordinary.
to the green chili pot add 4 tablespoons of cornmeal, 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon of kitchen bouquet vegetable browning. then pour the contents of the crockpot into the green chili pot and stir until everything is completely mixed–about 10-15 minutes of stirring. cover and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes although an hour is usually better.
serve hot. i like mine garnished with minced scallions, chopped jalapenos, and a little grated sharp cheddar cheese. saltine crackers and plain tortilla chips (my favorite is plain, toasted corn doritos). it freezes beautifully and when reheated a day or two later has has an amazing flavor.
