This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Texas Chili
I'm genuinely surprised at how simple this recipe is, since it leans heavily on the chili powder as well as how much of this is fat versus water. Takes a while to make, though, almost 2 1/2 hours for me although most of it is just simmering to stew the meat. It's very good, though, if you want a hearty stick-to-your-ribs stew. Mine needed a dash of salt but otherwise was pretty darned good.
I am now officially a San Antonio Chili Queen (Claimant in Exile).
I wasn't able to find tallow locally, and didn't want to drive into town to a meat market, so I substiuted more lard for the tallow. Also, I used some generic Chili powder istead of Gebhardt's since it's what I had in the pantry. Might be why it didn't seem as hot as Max's did on his YouTube video....
# Texas Chili
Tasting History with Max Miller
5.0 servings
2.0 pounds boneless chuck beef
2.0 tsp salt
0.25 cup tallow
2.0 tbsp lard
1.0 cup onion (minced)
3.0 cups water (hot)
3.0 tbsp chili powder
2.0 tbsp garlic (minced)
1 - Chop the meat into small cubes, about 1/2 inch.
2 - Mix the beef and the tallow together, then add the salt and mix.
3 - Melt the lard in a pot over medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring so they don’t burn.
4 - Add the meat mixture and cook, turning the meat frequently. Once all the meat has some color, continue to cook stirring every few minutes.
5 - Once the juices have cooked off and the meat is left frying in the fat, add the hot water. Make sure the water is very hot, almost boiling.
6 - Add the chili powder and garlic and stir until everything is mixed well.
7 - Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer with the lid off for 1 to 1 ½ hours. The time will depend on the heat and the cut of meat you’re using. Mine took an hour for the meat to get nice and tender. You shouldn’t have to add any more water, but keep an eye on it because if the water all boils away, the chili will burn.
8 - After the chili has simmered and the meat is tender, serve it forth and transport yourself back to the plazas of San Antonio when the Chili Queens reigned.
Makes 5 servings at ~400 calories
Calories 425
Total Fat 22g
Total Carbohydrate 6g
Protein 6g
