My old friend Chris Walters made Texas Chili for me when I lived in Charlottesville back in the 1970s. It was a revelation. Many years later, and even after serving as the chief judge at two (unsanctioned) Chili Cookoffs in Richmond, Virginia, I think this is one of the great chili recipes of all time.
I have made this Texas Chili many times, and it is always wonderful. It is the best chili I ever ate – or ever will eat, I suppose. The recipe is astoundingly simple. It is well known to Texans. Early on, when I was still blissfully ignorant of the fine points that real chili cooks discuss among themselves, I tried several times to improve the recipe by adding bay leaf, even a bouquet garni, or other aromatic spices. Once I even tried adding several spoons of chopped tomatoes. The results of these experiments, however, only detracted from the rock solid marriage of ancho chilis and cumin with beef. Chili made with more ingredients never quite measures up to this original.
Chris Walters told me this recipe once won the Texas Chili Cookoff. It certainly would deserve that honor. Chris made it once with Guajillo chilis, and the result, though blindingly hot (and good, in its way, despite the fearsome heat), was not as good as just using ancho chilis. Ancho chilis, which are dried pasillas, have more pulp – and thus more flavor – than most other dried chilis. They’re glorious.
And this glorious chili sings a sweet, seductive siren song that lingers in your mind. Since learning the recipe, I have never gone a year without making Texas Chili at least once. I wish each of you the same good fortune.
Chris Walters’ Texas Chili
(serves 8-12)
4 lbs. Beef 8 tbsps. Cumin
8 Ancho chilis
Salt
Spring Water
N.B. – NEVER use ground beef for this recipe.
Cut four pounds of good beef chuck in chunks (not too small). Sprinkle the bottom of the kettle with salt to keep the meat from sticking, and brown the chunks a few at a time over heat high enough to seal in the juices. I recommend using as much beef as your kettle will hold comfortably. You won’t need to worry about leftovers.
When the meat chunks are browned, add at least two tablespoons of good quality cumin powder for each pound of meat. Reduce the flame to very, very low, and let the cumin-sprinkled meat sizzle in the rendered fat, stirring to prevent any further scorching, while you remove the seeds and stems from eight large ancho chilis. Or even ten. At least two large anchos per pound of meat should be about right. Don’t be afraid to add more – they’re mild enough. I try not to break the anchos up too much at this point, because it’s easier to remove the flesh from larger pieces later on – but suit yourself. Put the anchos in the kettle with the beef and cumin. Add enough good water (probably not tap water) to cover the meat by two inches or so, and a little more salt. How much salt depends on the amount you used when browning the beef. Not too much. Scrape all brown bits up off the bottom. Use a spatula to be sure the bottom is scraped clean. Anything you leave on the bottom may scorch. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stew gently, tightly covered, until the meat is fall apart tender – two and a half to three hours.
Long, slow cooking is essential. You can cook this chili in the oven at 300° if your kettle will fit, after it comes to the boil the first time. Adjust the salt slightly – again – after the first hour – but let the broth remain a bit under salted because your chili, at this point, will still cook down. Too much salt could ruin it. When the meat is almost tender, remove the anchos and scrape the flesh off their skins, using a spoon. The ancho skins won’t help your chili much, but they won’t do it much harm either. Often you will find chili skins floating on the surface of your chili, rolled up into little straws. Just remove them with a slotted spoon. Gently mash the ancho chili flesh with a fork, reducing it to a thick paste, and return this to the pot. Taste the broth. If there seems to be way too much broth, remove six cups or so and cook it down by at least half in a separate saucepan, then return it to the pot, give everything a good stir, let it rest a minute, and taste. At this point, it is almost done, so adjust the salt to your liking and put in three more tablespoons of cumin powder. Simmer at least twenty minutes after these additions, stirring occasionally, or until the flavors have all married nicely.
Please note, however, that the broth for this chili should never never NEVER be thickened using flour or cornstarch.
This is relatively mild, by chili cookoff standards – but it’s totally ambrosial. You could add one California or serrano chili (seeds and stem removed) or a couple of pequins or even a Scotch Bonnet pepper if you want more zing. But I really think you won’t need it.
Serve with the usual accompaniments: stewed pinto or red kidney beans, warm corn tortillas, fluffy white rice, pico de gallo, lashings of your favorite hot sauce, maybe even some thin sliced onion pickle made by slicing a sweet Texas onion into very thin rings and letting them marinate with salt and lime juice and a touch of pepper. I like a dollop of sour cream in the bowl – but most people don’t.
Note: You can start this chili on the grill by using one or two large whole boneless chuck roasts three or four inches thick. Browning the meat over mesquite charcoal adds an interesting native American flavor. Let the meat cool a bit after it has browned up pretty good on both sides, then cut it up into eating-sized chunks. Be careful not to burn your fingers, and be sure to put all the juice in the chili.
Note: I often throw a steak on the grill for the cook’s treat snack – a nice little Porterhouse is perfect – because it will be at least three hours before the chili is served. And you wouldn’t want the chili cook to begin feeling faint with hunger along the way, now would you?
Note: If you ever enter your own version of this chili in a cookoff, you would probably want to use top sirloin instead of chuck. Top sirloin cooks down to tender more quickly than chuck, which can be important in a cookoff, because the time for cooking is limited. Be sure you carefully remove all crunchy cartilage and pesky membranes. The result won’t be quite as good as using chuck, because chuck has more fat and cartilage than sirloin, and those will increase the richness of the sauce.
Note: Sometimes I can’t resist adding a tablespoon of finely chopped onion, or possibly some minced shallot and a few minced cloves of garlic with the ancho chilis. To a true Texas Chili purist, however, these vegetal additions can only distract from the main show – the meat, the cumin and the ancho chilis. And I am not sure they do any good. You can also try adding one or two squares of dark, very bitter 70% chocolate –grated up first, of course, and melted into a cup of the broth before it returns to the chili.
Note: I always save out a cup or two of the finished broth. Then the next day, I simmer it gently until it is reduce by at least a third. Finished with a little butter, this makes an outstanding sauce for grilled steak or poached eggs, which can be served in a custard cup swimming in the broth. You might like to try spooning it over huevos rancheros. You could reduce it still further and then use a few tablespoons of the result to flavor a Béarnaise sauce – but leave out the tarragon, of course.
Note: I have also made this as a green chili, using fresh pasillas, which I first roasted lightly on the grill so I could get their skins off easily. I think the green chili version, however, works better with roast pork, or with a goulashy mixture of pork, veal and beef chunks. The basic spice mix – anchos and cumin and salt – makes a good posole (hominy stew), although for posole I do like to add a good handful of chopped onion and even maybe one organic carrot hashed up very small.
Note: Ancho chili powder is available in jars. Using it won’t be as good as using whole dried anchos (seeds and stem removed) but it can be a handy ingredient – it’s like an interesting slightly coarse dark brown paprika. Sprinkling it on steaks and roasts before you grill them works fairly well, and you can use it to make a very interesting steak butter.
