Cook's Illustrated "Ultimate Chili"

The 2011/2012 cow is probably on its way to slaughter in the next week or so and will arrive in Portland at the end of the month.  I need to eat some beef!  So, beef stew meat, you are being made into chili.


I found this recipe on the Cook's Illustrated website circa 2004.  I printed it out and had it with my recipes for years.  I couldn't find it yesterday, so was THRILLED to find a version of it on the Epicurious website.  It's definitely some work, but man is it worth it.


A couple notes before we begin:


1.  I had 2 Anchos at my house already.  I first went to the regular grocery store for the regular ingredients, then hit up my favorite international market for the chile peppers.  They didn't have Anchos. I picked dried Pasillas to substitute.  When I got back home, I saw the notes for the recipe, which I did not have, stated that dried New Mexico or Guajillo chilies may be substituted for the Ancho chilies.  The store had both those types.  Let me tell you, Pasillas work too.


2.  The recipe calls for light molasses.   The store didn't have light molasses, so I bought regular molasses.  To the people out there who think that they can taste the difference between 2 tsps of light molasses and 2 tsps of regular molasses in a huge pot of chili?  Go ahead, I dare you.


3.  I didn't have oregano.  I thought I did, but I didn't.  I didn't want to go back to the store, so I omitted it.  I don't think oregano would have added anything.


4.  I do pretty much all my cooking in cast iron.  If you are using a cast iron skillet for the browning of the meat, the oil is unnecessary.


5.  I usually make my chili on the stove.  I was tempted to do so with this recipe, but I kind of liked the idea of putting it in the oven and not dealing with it; not checking if it was boiling instead of simmering, not taking tastes and burning the shit out of my mouth, just letting it cook.  It went well.  I think I will make chili in the oven always.


6.  My desired condiments:  grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.  Okay, really what I used was nonfat plain yogurt.  Same same but different.


Okay, on with the recipe.


6 dried Ancho chile peppers (about 1 ¾ ounces), stems and seeds removed,
and flesh torn into 1-inch pieces
2 to 4 dried Arbol chile peppers, stems removed, pods split, seeds removed
3 tablespoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3 small jalapeno chilies, stems and seeds removed and discarded, flesh cut
into ½-inch pieces
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4
teaspoons)
2 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes
½ small can of tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons light molasses
2-3 cans pinto, pinquito or kidney beans
2 ½ pounds blade steaks, trimmed of gristle and fat and cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 (12 ounce) bottle lager


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place Ancho chilies in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat; toast, stirring frequently, until flesh is dry and fragrant, 4-6 minutes, reducing heat if chilies begin to smoke. Transfer to bowl of food processor and cool. Do not wash out skillet.

Add arbol chilies, cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa, and1 teaspoon salt to food processor with toasted ancho chilies; process until finely ground, about 2 minutes. With processor running, very slowly add ½ cup broth until smooth, thick paste forms, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer to small bowl. 

Place onions in now-empty processor bowl and pulse until roughly chopped, about four 1-second pulses. Add jalapenos and pulse until consistency of chunky salsa, about four 1-second pulses, scraping down bowl as necessary.


Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until any exuded moisture has evaporated and vegetables are softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chili paste, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and molasses; stir until chili paste is thoroughly combined. Add remaining 2 cups broth and beans; bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Pat beef dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Add half of beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer meat to Dutch oven. Add ½ bottle lager to skillet, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, and bring to simmer. Transfer lager to Dutch oven. Repeat with remaining oil, beef, and lager. Once last addition of lager has been added to Dutch oven, stir to combine and return mixture to simmer.

Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook until meat is fully tender, 1 ½ to 2 hours. Let chili stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir well and season to taste with salt. Serve with desired condiments.


This recipe is not for the faint of heart.  It's not difficult; it's just time consuming.  I left my house at about 4.30pm to get the ingredients, was back by about 5 and started cooking immediately.  Granted, I was by no means rushing and much of the time is spent waiting around for the chili to cook, but I did not eat my first bowl of chili until after 9.

That said, this really is the Ultimate Chili.  It puts my easy recipe (see here) to shame.


Bon appetit.

Mexico Month - Toro Two Ways (and a Ceviche)

On the day of my 30th birthday, we went fishing.  I have never been ocean fishing, and it generally seemed like a good excursion.  Besides, the chance to catch - and, yes, kill - a fish or two to eat with my formerly vegetarian best friend was too good to pass up.  We spent a lot of time not catching anything, got really close to some humpback whales, then finally caught three Pacific Jack Crevalle, or Toro, as the Mexicans call it. I had never heard of this fish, but our guides assured us that it is delicious.

I should mention here that after returning from fishing, our guides beached our boat, but we did not leave the boat.  We stayed to drink and hang out for quite a while.  It's a trip hanging out on a boat that is not actually in water.  I am sure one of our guides, Victor, will not mind being featured on my blog.  He was clearly enjoying the relaxing time.


Back to cooking...

We had leftover - and uncooked - Mahi Mahi from the fajitas we made the night before, so first thing on the list was ceviche mixto.  This isn't exactly a recipe I can write out, especially since my job was to dice veggies, but generally one should dice equal parts fish, tomato, green bell pepper, and onion.  Place the fish in a bowl and squeeze some lime on top.  Let cook.  Add remaining ingredients along with some minced serrano (or jalapeno) peppers.  Enjoy.  

The ceviche was just an appetizer, and we still had lots of toro left.  We decided to cook it two ways; one a simple seasoning of salt and pepper sauteed in oil, the other dredged in flour and cooked in butter and garlic.

Overall, a perfect meal.


Bon appetit.

Chiles Rellenos, Tierra Vegetables Style

This is the first of the meals I made to accompany Jacquis Rich Beans.  I wanted to make a Mexican dish, but I didn't want to prepare something that would dominate the flavors on the plate.  I also didn't want to spend too much time cooking the meal, and most of the mexican entrees I like to prepare are pretty time and work intensive.


My mom gave me this chiles rellenos recipe after I complained to her one night about my attempt to make traditional fried chile rellenos.  On that particular night, the cheese oozed out the of the chiles during the frying AND I ended up burning one of the batches.  I love chiles rellenos, but I am just not a huge fan of frying things.  I am not very good at it, it takes a lot of oil, and it's not particularly healthy.  Mostly I'm not very good at it.  This recipe is perfect: no frying.  


Oh, and in these particular chiles rellenos, I threw a little bit of bacon in with the cheese stuffing.  I had to defrost the second to last package of the Abundant Life Farms bacon, and now that it's sitting in my fridge, I want to put it in everything.  And I cut the recipe in half.


8 chiles (anaheim or poblano), roasted, peeled, slit, and seeds removed
8 slices monterey jack, length and width of chiles
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 c. water
canola oil


Stuff each chile with a cheese slice and set aside.


In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, flour, water, and a little salt.  In a large bowl, using a balloon whisk, whisk the whites until they are stiff but not dry.  Fold the yolk mixture into the whites in three batches just until combined.  Take care not to deflate the whites.


Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly oil a 9-inch square pan.  Spoon half the batter onto the bottom of the dish.  Put the stuffed chiles on top of the batter and cover evenly with the remaining batter.  Bake until browned, about 25 minutes.


I usually make my own salsa to smother the chiles, but as mentioned previously, I wasn't in the mood to be in the kitchen for hours. I used some green salsa I had in the fridge.


Bon appetit.

Warmth for the Soul: Jacquis Rich Beans

This is a difficult post to write because I am not sure I know how to express how much I love these beans.  In short, Jacquis Rich Beans are an essential part of my life.  My mom has been cooking them for as long as I can remember.  We cooked them together as the first item cooked in my first apartment in DC for my first job out of college.  I have used them to win over the hearts of many bean-haters, and bean-lovers.  I cannot remember a year of my life that I have not eaten these beans.  They really are warmth for the soul, or at least, warmth for my soul.

It brings a smile to my face every time I pull out the recipe.  As a present one year for either my birthday or Christmas (they are close together, so I sometimes have a hard time distinguishing presents from each), my younger sister typed out a bunch of family favorite recipes and put them in a recipe box for me.  I know, it is a really cute gift idea. One in which she stole from me: I had done the same thing for our older sister the year before.  Regardless, it was a very nice gift.  But what really brings a smile to my face is the typos on the cards.  There aren’t really that many, but on Jacquis Rich Beans, one of the ingredients is typed – 2 garlic cloves rinsed.  I am laughing as I write this.  Obviously it’s supposed to read ‘minced’, but the thought of a recipe directing you to rinse a garlic clove tickles my funny bone.

Ingredients:

1 lb pink beans, rinsed and checked for stones

1 lb pinto beans, rinsed and checked for stones

14 cups water + hot water as needed

½ onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves minced (not rinsed)

Seasoning Mix:

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 slices pancetta (I use bacon)*

1 ½ cups chopped onion

4 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbsp Kosher salt

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp ground red chile*

½ tsp finely ground black pepper

To finish:

1 Tbsp olive oil

Finely ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Place the beans in a large pot, add the water, onion, and garlic.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for about 1 ½ hours.  Check every 20 minutes to make sure the beans are well covered with water.  If necessary, add hot water in one cup increments.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet.  Add the pancetta (or bacon) and fry for 3 minutes, until partially cooked.  Let cool, then chop. 

Using the same skillet, fry the onion until it turns a rich brown (add a tsp of olive oil if needed).  Stir in the garlic, turn off heat and set aside.

When the beans are tender, stir in the pancetta (or bacon), the caramelized onion and garlic.  Season with the salt, garlic salt, ground chile and pepper.  Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the beans are tender.

At this point, we usually eat some of the beans as they are, in a small bowl, knowing that by the next day they will be even better.

Let the beans cool then refrigerate overnight.

To finish the beans:

Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy skillet.  When the oil is almost hot, sprinkle in some finely ground pepper.  Add 1 cup drained beans and 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid and begin mashing.  Do this slowly, allowing the beans to simmer so they will thicken.  Add water if you don’t have enough bean liquid. (When the beans sit overnight they absorb a lot of liquid).  Add at least 4 cups beans and 3 cups liquid, simmering until very thick.  Stir this thick bean base into the remaining beans and simmer, stirring frequently, until the flavors blend and the beans are heated through.

The recipe states “serves 12 to 14”.  I usually make it for myself and eat beans for every meal until they are gone.  I eat burritos, tostadas, make rice and bean bowls, eat them as a side dish or just eat the beans plain. You will notice that beans are part of the next couple posts.  I actually stopped taking pics of my meals because they were all bean-based.

* Note on bacon:  I still have bacon from the pork I purchased from Abundant Life Farms.  Bacon is one of the dominant flavors in this recipe, so high quality bacon is a must.

* Note on ground red chile: I always use Habanero powder from Chile Today-Hot Tamale.  It is the best ground red chile pepper I have found. It is very hot, so if you don't like so much spice, perhaps use less than recommended.

Bon appétit.