My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. I
usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. Do you have a
favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? TIA and
enjoy the holiday.
Ellie

wrote in message
...
> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards
> get together. I usually make chicken chili but would
> like to try beef. Do you have a favorite recipe you
> will share and what cut of beef do I use?

Not beef or chicken but my clan's favorite by far!
ERNESTO'S MEXICAN FOOD CHILE VERDE
Source: Ernesto's Mexican Food, Sacramento, California


INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds lean pork roast (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
10 green tomatillos
2 tablespoons diced jalapenos
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons canola oil


METHOD:
Place most of the ingredients in blender (except pork) and
puree.
In a small pot, brown cubed pork with three tablespoons of
canola oil. Make sure to brown all sides evenly. This should
take about ten minutes.
Remove all excess oil from meat. Stir in pureed
ingredients and let
simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Cooking time depends on size of
cube and how much the meat cooked while browning.
Taste for flavor; for more spiciness, add jalapenos.

When the recipe says, "taste for flavor" be sure to "taste" all
through the process! Some jalapenos are hotter than others and
don't substitute Serrano's! That'll light you up.

The Ranger

> wrote in message
...
>
> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. I
> usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. Do you have a
> favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? TIA and
> enjoy the holiday.
> Ellie

I've never liked chicken in my chili all that much.

I've used beef and turkey with good results and got a lot of ooh's and ahh's
for using bison in my chili a few weeks ago. The taste of the meat really
complimented the chili spices.

Jon

On Feb 18, 9:31*am, wrote:
> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. * I
> usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. * Do you have a
> favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? * TIA and
> enjoy the holiday. *

Good idea to get away from that chicken. In my view, chicken has too
delicate a flavor to stand up to the strong spices and flavors of
chili so what you really get is just a vehicle for the seasonings.
Beef and pork, on the other hand, will withstand the strong flavors
and still be able to offer their own tastes to the combination.
Philosophy aside, I'd use beef chuck and pork shoulder (or butt). If
you have your own grinder, use the coarser plate. If not, chunk them
into bite-sized pieces and give them a quick browning first. Or for
maximum variety, use both chunks and ground meats. -aem

> On Feb 18, 9:31 am, wrote:
>> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. I
>> usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. Do you have a
>> favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? TIA and
>> enjoy the holiday.
>


You wrote "my chili". If your chili is usually chicken - won't your
guests expect chicken?

Just asking.....


Tracy

wrote:
> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. I
> usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. Do you have a
> favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? TIA and
> enjoy the holiday.
> Ellie
>


I don't usually follow a recipe, but once upon a time I tried to pay
attention to what I was doing and wrote everything down ;-) So these are
approximate measures. If the ground meat is too lean, you might need to
add a little oil or fat. You can add a can or two of tomato sauce or
peeled tomatoes if you must, but I don't.

Bob's Red Chili

1 to 1.5 pounds beef stew meat
1 pound ground meat (turkey, venison, pork, or beef)
1 large (or 2 small) yellow onions
2 cups water
8 dried New Mexico or Guajillo chile peppers
4 large dried Ancho chile peppers
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
2 (15 oz) cans beef broth
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans or "chili beans" (optional)
1 Tbsp cornmeal or dried masa
cayenne pepper, to taste [I used between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp]

Break up the ground meat in a large skillet and begin browning over high
heat. When the meat has turned gray and there is some grease in the
pan, add the stew meat. Continue cooking until all is thoroughly done
and browned somewhat. Transfer to a large stockpot. Set the dirty
skillet aside for later.

Remove stems and seeds from the dried peppers. Don't worry about
getting all the seeds out. Tear or crumble the peppers into a small
saucepan with the water; simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop onions and sauté in the grease remaining in the
dirty skillet. When onions are soft and becoming translucent, transfer
to the stockpot.

Pour the stewed peppers and water into the blender and blend until
liquefied. Pour the chile paste into a large sieve and press it thru
with a spoon into the stockpot (this removes any pepper skins and stray
seeds, you can skip this step if you don't mind the extra fiber, which
can have a tough plasticky texture). Rinse the blender with a little
water and pour that in the stockpot.

Add all remaining ingredients except the beans and the cornmeal. Simmer
for several hours. Add canned beans and simmer another 20 minutes.
Adjust seasoning (salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and maybe garlic
powder) to taste. Add the cornmeal, and simmer 10 or 15 minutes until
thickened (stir occasionally because it can burn at this point.)


Notes: Anchos are large and black dried peppers and smell faintly of
chewing tobbaco. They are mild. Guajillo and New Mexico peppers are
long, flat, and mahogany colored. They can be hot or mild; usually in
between but closer to mild.

Tracy wrote:
>
>
>> On Feb 18, 9:31 am, wrote:
>>> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. I
>>> usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. Do you have a
>>> favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? TIA and
>>> enjoy the holiday.
>>
>
>
> You wrote "my chili". If your chili is usually chicken - won't your
> guests expect chicken?
>
> Just asking.....
>
>
> Tracy


I was thinking the same thing...

Bob

wrote:
> My chili has been requested for an Academy Awards get together. I
> usually make chicken chili but would like to try beef. Do you have a
> favorite recipe you will share and what cut of beef do I use? TIA and
> enjoy the holiday.
> Ellie
>

In certain areas of Texas where chili is a competition dish, they would
never think of using ground meat. The meat, whether it is chicken, beef,
venison or whatever is cut into a small dice. Some supermarkets in those
areas will sell "chili" meat which is pre-cut into that small dice.

The reason I mention this is that I once tried chili with ground chicken
and found the texture to be not at all to our liking. The next time I
made it with chicken, I did it in a small dice and it had a much nicer
texture and seemed to have more substance to it.

Since people are expecting "your chili" which you say is chicken, why
not try a little twist on your own recipe and used a small dice of
chicken rather than ground chicken?

Just a thought.

--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:32:24 -0600, Janet Wilder
> wrote:

wrote:


>In certain areas of Texas where chili is a competition dish, they would
>never think of using ground meat. The meat, whether it is chicken, beef,
>venison or whatever is cut into a small dice. Some supermarkets in those
>areas will sell "chili" meat which is pre-cut into that small dice.

True, True! We in my family refer to it as "cut chili" and prefer it
to the usual "chili-gound" beef or (Yuk) hamburger. I use mostly
chuck. A couple of tips, though. "Chili con carne" translates "peppers
with meat". Notice it says nothing about beans (frijoles). Your blend
of chilis I leave to you. Chili powder contains cumin and sometimes
mexican oregano. The oregano flavor usually survives cooking, but
the cumon flavor cooks away, with some of the flavor dissolving in
the grease you skim off. I add ground chili and cumin separately,
but I divide the cumin in half..... one half goes in early, the other
is added in the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

A really great chili includes two usually unmentioned flavors: corn
and cocoa. You can add these subtleties by changing your liquid
to a can or two of corn beer (Busch Bavarian, Lone Star), made
up to proper measure with beef broth, and than
at the end adding a 1/4 cup (+/-) of corn meal as a thickener.
In the last half hour, when you add the refresher cumin, add a
heaping Tbs of unsweetened cocoa powder. Your chili will
darken and take on a wonderful aftertaste that is most
difficult to describe. You can call it your "secret ingredient".

About the peppers: some people go overboard with chipotles.
My basic chili is the NM-6, sometimes called the Hatch chili,
from Hatch. NM. You can order them online. Mild, medium or
hot, you can blend your own... for more rich but not hot
pepper flavor, try adding 1-2 guajillos (soak in water,
deseed, blend in beef broth) or maybe some ancho.

Hope this helps.

A-