Chili

A while back, we made some chili powder, which I love because homemade chili powder has more flavor than any that I've bought at a store, no matter how expensive. So now, just in case you were wondering what to do with the chili powder, I figured it might be worth making some chili.

Some people buy chili in cans.

…

Let us say no more about that, nor about those people. We have chili to make, and no time for idle gossip. A chili is essentially a beef stew. It is steeped in the tradition and mysticism of the old west, of cowboys and ranch hands. As we know from cornbread and chowder, when tradition is involved, people become… passionate. With the cornbread, I went all the way to the deepest tradition of southern cornbread. I am not doing that with the chili.

Now, to be sure, my chili does not contain beans. Nor does it contain corn, nor any other filler vegetable intended to either make the food less expensive to produce or to make it in some way "nutritious." The only vegetable in my chili is onion, and the only fruit is tomato, and both of those are vital for flavor.

Still, it isn't traditional chili. While it is a beef (and lamb and pork) stew, I have some secret ingredients added. And those ingredients are fish or fish by-products.

No, no, seriously. But be patient, as there are good reasons for my craziness.

We start by taking three pounds of meat, divided more or less evenly into cubes of lamb, beef, and pork. Because I am a pretentious foodie-type with an abundance of local meat choices, all of the animals in this chili came from the area. And they were all delicious. I also used the toughest portions of meat that I could find from these animals, because this is a dish that benefits from long and slow cooking. Take some oil that is resistant to high temperatures and lightly coat the meat with said oil.

Orrrrrrr… if you happen to be cutting up a pork shank into cubes as I was, and you had some leftover pork fat that you hardly wanted to waste, then you could render that down into lard. Turn up the heat to medium-high and brown the cubes of meat in your large french oven (i.e. porcelain-covered dutch oven). You'll have to do the browning in batches.

Once the meat is browned, turn down the heat and sweat one or two diced onions.

And here's where things get a little weird. Make a little space in the pan and put in two anchovies (packed in olive oil, not salt). Do it!

Stir and cook those until they basically dissolve into their component parts, which will essentially take 15-30 seconds.

Now we need to deglaze the pan with beer, which basically means to pour about 20 oz of beer into the pot and use it to help you scrape up any thin layers of meat that stuck to the bottom of the pan when you were browning. Those browned bits are called "fond", which is the French way of saying that they are the foundation of flavor in he stew.

I used a very, very good beer for this. I normally wouldn't have, but it was either one of these, or some stout, and stout isn't really what you want for chili, as it tends to become bitter when cooked. Go for an ale if you can.

Next, add the meat back in, along with the tomatoes, a single chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (diced), chili powder, and whatever various sauces you've decided to add in. For me, I've chosen Pikapeppa, Worcestershire, Chipotle Tobasco, and Fish Sauce.

Yes, fish sauce. I warned you ahead of time. Okay, here's the deal: anchovies and fish sauce deliver a ton of umami to the dish, and chili can only be made better with more umami. It's one of the reasons we add the tomatoes as well. The Worcestershire Sauce also has anchovies in it, for just that reason. I promise you that with all of the heavy flavors in this dish, there is no way you or anyone else will be able to detect any fishiness. It will only make it more savory.

Add your masa (if you can find it, or ground up tortilla chips if you can't), bring just to a simmer, then put in a 170° oven for 2-4 hours, covered. Put a probe thermometer into the pot to ensure that the food is being cooked at around 180° to 200°F. If you can't quite get the temperature that low in the oven, then you can do the same on the stovetop over a relatively low heat. Don't fret too much; the higher the temperature, the shorter amount of time to cook it, but you'll be happier with a more slowly cooked chili. Unless you're hungry, of course; then it will be exquisite, chili-scented torture.

Incidentally, if you are opening a new can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, you're never going to use them all for one small batch of chili. So take the rest, divide them one pepper at a time into an ice cube tray, freeze, then separate and put into a freezer-safe zip top bag. Then you'll have a handy pepper whenever you need one.

Chili

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 lb. Stew Beef, cut into 1 inch cubes

- 1 lb. Stew Lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes

- 1 lb. Stew Pork, cut into 1-inch cubes

- 2 Tablespoons Oil, To coat

- 2 Medium Onions, diced

- 16 ounces Tomatoes, canned

- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

- 1 Chipotle Pepper in adobo suace, diced

- 1 Tablespoon Pikapeppa Sauce

- 2 Anchovies

- 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce

- 1/4 cup Chili Powder

- 2 Teaspoon Tobasco Sauce

- 20 ounces Beer, Ale

- 1/3 cup masa or crushed corn tortilla chips.

METHOD:

1. In a ceramic-covered dutch oven, over medium-high heat, brown the meat in batches. Set meat aside when browned.

2. Lower the heat and sweat the onions.

3. Add the anchovies, and stir to break apart.

4. Pour in the beer, and stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze.

5. Add all of the other ingredients, stir, and bring to a simmer.

6. Add a probe thermometer, cover, and place in oven on 170-180°F. Ensure that the interior doesn't go above 200°F. If the oven won't go low enough to keep the inside between 180 and 200°F, then cook on stovetop. Cook for 2-4 hours.

Comments

[Demetra Lambros]

I love the commentary leading up to and running through this post. I love had you handled the can-issue. Love it. Now, two questions: In the recipe you say "add the meat back in" but in your directions you don't say to remove the meat. I assume I should do this? Also you mention masa (or substitute) in the commentary but not in the recipe. Assume I should put this in? How much? Thanks!

[Brian]

Thank you very much. I've modified the recipe with the the two omissions, so it should work properly now.