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Charmed Chili




Source of Recipe


Jacci Howard Bear , About.com


Recipe Introduction


After trying out a couple of award-winning chili recipes, on my third try I decided to create my own original chili. Although I drew from various recipes I'd read recently, the actual ingredients and process were pretty much made up as I went along. And the name? Oh, that's just because we were watching the TV show "Charmed" while enjoying my latest
concoction.



List of Ingredients




• 5 1/2 lbs lean beef, coarse ground for chili
• 2 medium-large onions, finely chopped
• 6 New Mexico Chili pods
• 6 De Arbol Pepper pods
• 2 tablespoons Adams brand Oregano in 1 cup of water* ("tea")
• 12 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 12 rounded tablespoons Adams brand Chili Powder
• 2 tablespoons Adams brand Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Adams brand Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 15-oz can Hunts Tomato Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Tarragon White Wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Cholula sauce
• Black pepper and Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups chili water (water leftover from boiling the dried peppers)



Recipe



These specific brands are optional. The peppers were purchased at the H-E-B Central Market. The meat came from both Albertson's and Central Market, a coarser ground than the H-E-B ground beef for chili that I used in previous recipes. This recipe feeds 6-8.

Instructions:
Remove stems and seeds from chili pods. Place chili pods in saucepan, cover with about 1 1/2 cups of water, and boil for 30-40 minutes.


Mash the larger chili pods through a sieve to remove membrane. Make a paste of the pulp. Chop up the softened smaller peppers and add to the chili paste. DO NOT THROW OUT THE WATER. Hold for later.

Prep Tip: Get some help in the kitchen. While one helper chopped onions and pressed garlic another was browning the meat and I was measuring ingredients and supervising the entire operation.

Make a "tea" of the oregano leaves by brewing in 1 cup of boiling water. Strain the "tea" and set aside.

Brown meat 1 pound at a time, seasoning with black pepper. Brown onions along with the meat. Use slotted spoon to remove meat and onions to your chili cooking pot as it browns.

Crush garlic cloves. If you don't have a garlic press, chop and crush with a knife but make sure it's well crushed.

To the meat mixture add the garlic, chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, sugar, oregano "tea," and vinegar, and Cholula sauce. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Add the chili paste, chili water, and tomato sauce to the pot. Mix thoroughly. Reduce heat and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours. (Alternatively, put it all in a slow cooker and simmer all day long or overnight - add a little extra liquid.)

Serving suggestion: Dish up a steaming bowl of chili with homemade corn tortillas on the side. I'd never made tortillas before but these were super easy with an instant masa mix. I used Maseca brand (from Azteca Milling, a Texas company). A nice change from cornbread.