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June 12, 2005
A more successful attempt
Ok, after my last failed attempt at making chili, I spent Saturday trying another recipe that I got from this list of chili recipes. I tried the "A Bowl of Red" recipe, which is distinctive for its use of bacon, bitter chocolate and no tomatoes or tomato paste. That said, I came home to find that I only had beef broth, not beef stock, as the recipe required. It turns out that there is a difference between beef stock and beef broth. However, it all actually turned out pretty well, and my meals seem to be taken care of for the rest of the week. The only drawback seems to be the excessive spiciness of my chili powder, which I bought from the local Indian food store and dominates all of the other tastes.
Full recipe after the jump...
A Bowl of Red
4 bacon slices, chopped
1 large onion
4 plump garlic cloves
4 lb chuch roast, trimmed of fat, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup good-quality chili powder
1 Tblspoon ground cumin
1/2 ounce bitter chocolate
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
2 cups beef stock
2 Tblspoons masa harina
Garnishes (whatever you like best)
Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven (big, heavy pot)over medium heat until brown and crisp. Remove the bacon from the drippings with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the onion to the drippings and saute briefly until softened. Mix in the garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. Stir in the beef and saute it until it loses its raw color. Add the reserved bacon, and the chili powder, cumin, chocolate, oregano, salt, vinegar, and cayenne. Pour in just enough stock to cover. Reduce the heat to very low and cook uncovered for about 3 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes. Add more stock as needed to keep the mixture from getting dry and sticking. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in the masa harina, a couple of teaspoons at a time, to thicken or "tighten" the chili. Serve the chili immediately let it cool, cover and refrigerate overnight, and reheat. Serve steaming hot.
Posted by Dean at June 12, 2005 11:56 PM
Comments
The difference between beef broth and beef stock is that stock is strained? You have to strain both to get the solids out, else they would not be "a liquid." And I am dubious about how much it matters in a recipe like chili.
Posted by: Marleigh at June 14, 2005 7:05 AM