/Recipe_icon.svg

Texas Red Chili

Texas Red chili (no beans)
4h beef chili

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs chuck roast, cut into larger bite sized cubes
  • 2 large yellow onions, diced
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 6 Tbsp (1.5oz) New Mexico Chili Powder
  • 2 Tbsp (0.5oz) Hot New Mexico Chili Powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp cayenne power
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 cans (14.5 oz) beef broth
  • oil to brown beef chunks and saute onions
  • 1/2 to 1 C red wine
  • salt to taste
  • limes
  • sour cream

Directions

  1. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, saute onions and garlic. When soft and taking on a little color, remove from dutch over to a bowl for later.
  2. Add oil to dutch oven and brown beef in small batches and brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan. This is only browning and not cooking the beef.
  3. Deglaze the dutch oven with red wine, making sure to scrape up all of the bits in the pan.
  4. Add beef and onions back to the pan with the wine.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix chili powders, oregano and cumin. Sprinkle over beef and stir it in to mix. Cook for at least a minute.
  6. Simmer until the beef is tender. This will depend on the quality of the beef and the size of the chunks. Simmer with cover on for first while but simmering with lid ajar can help in reducing the sauce. I generally plan on cooking for about 3 hours.
  7. Add roux to thicken if needed.
  8. Salt to taste
  9. Serve with fresh lime juice squeezed over the chili and some sour cream.

Notes

  • I buy the chili powder at Smith’s in the Mexican food section

  • The chili can be thickened up with a bit of a roux. You can add just flour into the pot early but then you HAVE TO watch it close so that the flour does not burn on the bottom of the pan. After a few distractions, I just do a roux at the end – heat 2 Tbsp butter in pan that you can wisk in, add 2 Tbsp flour and cook the flour until it takes on at least a golden brown color. Whisk constantly. You can adjust the butter/flour amounts, just make them equal in the end, i.e. 1/1, 4/4, etc.

  • For the broth, I typically use Better than Bouillon and just use a big spoon using a large table spoon and then adding the liquid. The liquid can be augmented with a good beer too.

  • Red wine could be replaced with a beer or omitted, but it does add a depth of character to the sauce.

  • Traditional Texas Red does not have beans but but beens can be added to this if desired. I have added 4 cans of drained pinto beans for larger functions where I needed to stretch the amout for the cost. Add beans about 45 minutes before being done cooking.

  • Won Welby 2nd Ward Chili Cook-off on 12 Nov 2004