CCRC's Lockdown Cookbook

Steve’s Chili

Preparation time: 30 – 45 mins; Cooking time: 2 hours

Submitted by: Steve Sherwood

Background

Chili cook-offs are common in smaller towns throughout the south-west US. Go to a few of these and you'll find that there are many great ways to make chili--the only universal ingredients are powdered chile, onions and probably garlic. Recipes are jealously guarded, but I will share one that I've fine-tuned over the years.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 250g bacon, chopped
• 1.5 kg mince (extra-lean beef and pork)
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 1/4 c powdered mild chile (e.g., pasilla, ancho, new mexico red, chipotle)
• 3 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 3 tbsp oregano
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp (RCP4.5) or 2 tsp (RCP8.5) cayenne
• 6 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 green capsicum, chopped
• 2-3 cups dried kidney beans
• 1 bottle beer
• 680 ml pasatta (one bottle)
• 2-3 cups stock or water
• 10 cloves garlic (less if large)

Instructions

Before you start: Following tradition the main ingredient here is beef (I use 1 kg beef and 0.5 kg pork). However beef is pretty poor for carbon emissions--so you could substitute vegetables; good options are capsicum, mushrooms, celery, green beans, zucchini, or carrots. If you also leave out bacon for fully veg, I suggest to include smoked paprika or chipotle in your chile powder.

I prefer dried kidney beans, in which case you need to start them cooking before doing the main dish so they'll be fully or nearly cooked (you can cook them partway and add to the chili earlier or fully cook and add at end). If you have a pressure cooker its much faster and you can cook them while the meat mixture is simmering. Finally, you can use canned, but rinse them well to get the glop off; add at the end.

Preparation: In a large dutch oven over medium heat, fry the onion and bacon in the oil until onion is translucent (5-10 min). Increase heat a bit, add meats and salt and cook stirring occasionally until crumbled and browned (10 min). Add all spices except oregano (first grind the cumin seeds, or use ground cumin) and cook five more minutes. Add all vegetables and stir through cooking five more minutes. Add all liquids, bring just to boil, and simmer for one hour. Add garlic, oregano and beans (if you didn't earlier) and simmer a few more minutes. Can be eaten at this point, but for better flavour turn off heat and allow to sit for 1-2 more hours, then bring again to boil before serving.