An easy Texas style chili with falling apart tender cubes of beef in a tasty chili sauce!
Chili is one of my favourite foods and there are many different ways to make it! At it’s base chili is made with beef and chilies, with the beef being either be cubed or ground, and there are plenty of different add-ins such as tomatoes, beans, etc. Texas style chili is made with cubed beef and no beans and it has a thick sauce made with a paste of chilies along with beef broth and coffee. This recipe starts out by toasting and soaking a few dried chilies, I like a combo of ancho chilies, pasilla chilies and chipotle chilies, before removing their stems and seeds and pureeing them into a paste. Cubed beef is seared until browned on all sides, and I like to cook it in bacon grease, which adds flavour and gives the perfect excuse to add bacon to the chili! The chili is seasoned with cumin, coriander, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne and a hint of cinnamon and cocoa powder along with Worcestershire sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Everything is simmered, slowly, until the beef is melt in your mouth tender, which gives all of the flavours plenty of time to come out! This Texas style chili is perfect in a bowl all by itself or served over rice, pasta, corn chips, tortilla chips, etc. and I like to top it with fresh cilantro, diced onions, jalapenos, cheese, avocado, etc.
Texas Chili
Prep Time:15 minutes Cook Time:2 hours 30 minutes Total Time:2 hours 45 minutes Servings: 6
An easy Texas style chili with falling apart tender cubes of beef in a tasty chili sauce!
ingredients
- 2 dried ancho chilies
- 2 dried pasilla chilies
- 2 dried chipotle chilies
- 1 cup water, just boiled
- 4 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup coffee
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomato puree (optional)
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- salt to taste
directions
- Toast the chilies in a heavy bottom skillet for 30 seconds per side before soaking in the just boiled water until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile cook the bacon in a large saucepan before setting aside, reserving the grease in the pan.
- Add the beef and cook in the bacon grease over medium-high heat until browned on all sides.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the now soaked chilies.
- Puree the now soaked chilies in the water they were soaked in along with the onion and garlic.
- Drain off any excess grease from the pan, add the chili puree and simmer for a minute.
- Add the beef broth, coffee, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, bacon, cumin, coriander, oregano, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, and cocoa powder, mix, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the beef is falling apart tender, about 2 hours. (Option: Skim off any excess fat from the broth.)
- Add the apple cider vinegar and season with salt to taste.
Slow Cooker: Implement steps 1-7, transfer to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the vinegar and seasoning with salt to taste.
Option: Replace some or all of the tomato puree with beef broth or beer.
Option: Add 2 tablespoons masa harina for a thicker sauce.
Option: Add 1 tablespoon molasses.
Option: Season with soy sauce instead of salt!
