Big dad's chili recipe
At a glance
| Serves | 1 |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 10 hours |
| Total time | 10 hours, 20 minutes |
| Meal type | Main Dish |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
| Region | American |
| Description | Here is a darn good chili recipe that offers some 'bite' to each bite. |
| Submitted by |
Your note
Photo
Please note: only the ingredient list has been updated, you will need to allow for different cooking times, temperatures and quantities in each step.
Ingredients
- 2lb lean ground beef
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons mexene chilli powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 15oz tomatoes (1 can)
- 2 jalapeño peppers (split, remove seeds and membrane)
- 1 pint water
Directions
Step 1
Melt the shortening in a four-quart pot.
Add the meat and cook, stirring often until no red remains.
Note: Traditional chili recipes call for beef suet, the pure white fat that surrounds the cow’s kidneys. Suet is very hard to find, hence the shortening. Actually you can leave that out too and use oil. If you want low-fat, just shoot a little non-stick spray in the bottom of the pot before you add the meat.
Step 2
Add the water and stir (a can of beer is a nice addition too).
Step 3
Add all the other ingredients except the jalapeños, and mix well.
The first time I made chili with this recipe, I didn’t know the difference between a clove and a head of garlic, so I put in the whole thing. The chili turned out fine, and the long cooking time softens the garlic taste, so now, while I don’t use a head, I do use more than one clove. As for tomatoes, I use the low sodium variety and usually get diced rather than whole. The whole thing is going to cook down anyway.
Step 4
Float the sliced chilies on top of the mix.
Step 5
Reduce the heat to low and let the mix simmer for a couple of hours or until the meat is tender.
Step 6
Skim off the grease and thicken with a paste of 2-3 tablespoons flour mixed with 1/2 cup water, and stir back into the pot.
Chilli is better when left to age. The best plan is to put the pot in the refrigerator overnight. The next day the red grease will have solidified and can be easily scraped off with a spoon. Take off a thin layer of chili with it, put the chili and grease into a colander and stick it under the hot water faucet. The hot water will wash away the grease and you can dump the leavings back in the pot. Then warm up the chili and thicken it. I use masa harina now instead of flour for thickening and get the liquid from the juice in the chili pot.
Post a comment
Add a photo
Have you made this recipe? Show us how it turned out. It will appear under the main image on the recipe page!
By adding a photo you agree to the terms and conditions. If you login you'll get credit for the photo, plus it will appear in your user profile.
Private note
You must login to save recipe notes.
See the other features you get when you login.
What are private notes?
These notes appear on the recipe page and are visible only to you.
If you feel that the chocolate cake you just made needs more chocolate then remind yourself here for when you cook it again.