Chili!

This is a tried-and-true version of authentic, Texas-style Chili con Carne. In Texas, they simply refer to this dish as "red," which is short for red chili because it's made with red meat, sauce and beans - "white" chili is usually made with chicken and white beans. In major chili competitions, beans are not allowed in the submitted recipes. But in the real world, everyone loves beans in their chili. And everyone for whom I've made this chili thinks it's the best darned chili they've ever had!

Click image to read about chili's history!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. (1.8 kg) ground beef (chuck)
1 large Spanish onion, chopped to a fine dice
1 to 2 fresh Serrano or other fresh chili peppers, diced finely - see notes!
1, 16-oz (475 ml - 457 g) can light kidney beans, drained
1, 16-oz (475 ml - 457 g) can black beans, drained
1, 16-oz (475 ml - 457 g) can dark kidney beans, drained
1, 16-oz (475 ml - 457 g) can pinto beans, drained
2 , 14½-oz (414.7 g) cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
1, 6-oz (180 ml) can tomato paste
1, 15-oz (450 ml) can tomato sauce
2 Tbs. (28.3 g) jarred minced garlic, or 2 - 3 crushed, fresh garlic cloves
5 - 6 cloves (about 5 Tbs. / 70.75 g) roasted garlic (optional, but adds a very nice character to the chili)
1 Tbs. (30 ml) beef-flavored browning liquid (see notes)
¼ cup (59.25 ml) lime juice
¼ cup (59.25 ml) lemon juice
1 tsp. (4.77 g) each of garlic powder, salt & ground, black pepper
1½ tsp. (7.16 g) ground cumin
mild, dark chili powder (see directions)

Preparation:

Place the meat in a 4-quart (3.8-liter) pot over medium heat. Season the meat with the garlic powder, salt, black pepper and cumin; sauté it in its natural juices (i.e., don't drain the fat!), breaking it up so it's nice and chunky. After there is no longer any pink color to the meat, add the chopped onion, chilies, fresh and roasted garlic (mashing up the roasted garlic well), then let it simmer uncovered a good 10 minutes on medium heat.

Next, add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, the beans, beef browning liquid and citrus juices (all the rest of the ingredients), using just enough chili powder to cover the top of the pot's contents with a very thin layer of it twice (i.e., do it two times in a row).

Give it a thorough stir, cover and simmer gently on very low heat (just so there's a little bubbling to it), stirring occasionally, at least 1 hour (preferably up to 2½ hours - this is certainly not a "30-minute meal" - it's too good to rush). Finish by seasoning with regular salt to taste.

Makes 6 to 8 hearty servings.

Notes:

I use "B-V Broth and Sauce concentrate" for the browning liquid. I recommend you do, too.

You may omit the fresh chili peppers all together, if you wish. The number of "alarms" to the chili is usually dictated by the number of fresh chilies added to the pot (for example, you would add two chopped peppers for 2-alarm chili). I like to put three or four of the hottest ones I can find in the pot! Most people can tolerate one chili pepper in the pot just fine, so don't be afraid to put at least one in.

When cutting fresh chili peppers, I strongly recommend wearing protective, rubber gloves because the essential oils of the peppers will seep into your skin and burn like the dickens for a long time afterwards (and you cannot wash it out right away with soap and water)! Also, be very careful when cleaning up your work area, knife and other utensils used to cut up fresh chilies because you can inadvertently get some of that stinging stuff on your hands that way, too. And for the love of God, do not rub your eyes after handling fresh-cut chilies, or you may get it into your eyes and, believe me, it really stings!

CAUTION: Handle with care!