# More Chili



## darwin101 (Jan 12, 2014)

This one does break a few of the Texas rules, but hey I live in Arizona now so it don't matter.  This is another one pot dish that I make in big batches, portion and freeze.

I hope ya'll enjoy it, or it sparks new ideas.

4 Pounds trimmed and diced beef chuck roast

1 Onion Diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, Diced

1 8oz can Tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano

3 Tablespoons New Mexico Red Chile powder (mild or hot)

2 Tablespoons California Red Chile powder

2 Tablespoons flour or masa harina(to help thicken sauce)

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Quart Beef Stock or Broth

1 Tablespoon Cumin

2 Teaspoons Salt

1 Tablespoon Lea & Perrin's (Worcestershire) sauce

1 Tablespoon Annatto past (optional)

1 27oz can Red Beans (optional)

Brown Beef in batches

Add diced onions and bell pepper, sauté until onions are translucent

Add all dry ingredients and stir to absorb liquids

Add minced garlic

Add chicken stock slowly, stir to dissolve flour and chili powder

Add remaining ingredients except for beans

Simmer slowly for an hour

Add beans, simmer for another hour

Adjust seasonings to taste (chili, cumin, salt or pepper)

Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Serve with corn bread, grated cheese, green onions, cilantro, diced white onions etc.


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## kc5tpy (Jan 13, 2014)

Hello Darwin101.  Thanks for the recipe.  It does sound pretty good.  Funny thing though:  chuck roast is pretty hard to find.  Not found in supermarkets and I have tried 2 local butchers and they didn't have a clue.  The chili powders, well I wouldn't know where to start looking.  Chile powder here is not a blend like we would have in the States.  It is a pretty much tasteless powder made from ground red chilis and I think a little paprika.  It comes in mild and hot.  Used mostly to make curries.  The masa flour can be gotten from an online dealer but as most folks here wouldn't know what to do with it other than your recipe,  buying a kilo ( plus shipping ) that will just sit for months at a time just isn't cost effective.  Also the tomato sauce can only be bought online.  Tomato sauce for many folks here means ketchup.  Some of these things MIGHT be found if you live in a big city like London.

This brings me back to why I asked Jeff to start the group.  Something simple like chili can be a pain to recreate here.  I adapted my recipe to things easily found here.  Thanks for posting.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## wade (Jan 13, 2014)

Looks good Darwin - I will give it a try

I did a cookery course in Santa Fe a while ago and still have a large tub of genuine New Mexico hot chilli powder. It will almost be authentic - Lol. The California Red Chile powder will have to be substituted with chilli from the garden though.

Masa Harina is readily available from Waitrose - and Tescos also sometimes have it. It isn't cheap though. I have some left over from making Dannys corn bread recipe so it wont go to waste.

In case anyone over here is wondering what Cilantro is - it is American for coriander leaves.

Lastly we need to convert the stock volume to take into account the difference between the US and UK pints. We need to add just over 1.5 pints (1 pint 12 fl oz) of Beef stock.

I will let you know how I get on


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## darwin101 (Jan 13, 2014)

Wade, I lived in Santa Fe for a time, it is an interesting city with enjoyable food, people and scenery.   I enjoyed my time there a great deal.  I hope you enjoyed your visit as well.  I think I need to go for a visit this spring.  :)

Danny, I did not think to consider the names for cuts of meat.  I generally use the chuck or brisket for stews, chili and to grind/mince.  Our ground beef scares me, no telling what they add to the mix!

I will be more careful with future recipe post, its a learning thing. 1 quart of beef stock = 32 fl oz (US)   I did not know tomato sauce was totally different here to there, more education for me.

The masa is optional, I generally don't use it and add the flour to make a bit of roux. (An 'authentic' corn tortilla would also work if you have those, it has the corn & lye flavour.  They are also used as soup thickeners.)  

As to the chili powders, I usually use a few varieties of whatever is fresh at the market or on hand. I prefer to get whole dried chile and make a puree.  The California chili is a mild one that adds flavour and no heat, so I guess it is best to use the best quality available. I usually have a half dozen different varieties on hand, but I live close to where they are grown. 

Off to work now,

Cheers ;)


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## jockaneezer (Jan 13, 2014)

Cumin makes all the difference to chilli but why spoil it with cilantro/coriander, it truly is the devil's weed


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## kc5tpy (Jan 13, 2014)

Hello Wade.  Masa Harina at Waitrose or Tesco?  Not up here.  Lucky you.  For the tomato sauce I think a pasata sauce will work.  Good luck and let us know how it went.

Hello Darwin.  I do have an online source for pretty good yellow corn tortillas.  And some really good white corn tortillas.  Not available at the supermarket.  We have a bastardised OLD EL PASO kit that contains some sort of corn meal/flour tortilla thing that has sugar in it.  The supermarket  bakeries are starting to make flour tortillas; not too bad but they are nothing like homemade or what you can find at local bakeries in the south ( they don't use lard ).  I can't find anything that says chuck on it here and I posted what passes for brisket here.  Fat would have to be added to the brisket to make it work.  Also just FYI, Lea and Perrins tastes different here compared to the U.S. stuff.  It was invented here so I guess it is the most authentic but I don't like it.  Prefer the American stuff.  Here is one you never thought of;  I didn't, British beef tastes different from U.S. beef.  British beef is fed out on barley where U.S. beef is fed out on corn

To All: I am not trying to bad mouth British food or British products.  They have some really great quality meat and produce here.  I am just trying to point out the differences and the need for this group.  You would think beef is beef and Lea and Perrins is Lea and Perrins.  Tomato sauce is a staple.  Yellow corn, white corn and flour tortillas are readily available, as is chuck ( roast or ground ). pork butt, packer style brisket, ANY marbled beef,  ANY pork with a good layer of fat and ham is smoked and contains fat.  No jalapenos and Serranos in the supermarket, just generic "green chilis"  One tastes like bell pepper the next is like habanero.  Even the well known international fast food burger joint ( which I dislike in both countries ) tastes different and has different menu options.  No U.S. style breakfast sausage available here.

Some of these things might be available in big cities like London but are not readily available to the general population.

Danny


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## jockaneezer (Jan 13, 2014)

Hi Danny, I don't think people realise how stressfull relocating to another countrty can be and it's the little everyday things that you can't get your hands on that can bug you out the most. Trying out "local" stuff on your 2 week holiday abroad is an "adventure" but when there is no respite from it for a prolonged period it becomes very frustrating. Must be why all those Brits go to Spain for their hols and frequent pubs and cafes that are mirror images of the mundane establishments they've paid their hard earned cash to get away from, there's something comforting about the familiar for them I suppose. Anyhoo, I don't think you're having a go at British produce, you're just pointing out the differences and that's helpful to us uninitiated on here. Keep up the good work and carry on ranting !

Graeme.


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## wade (Jan 13, 2014)

KC5TPY said:


> ...they are nothing like homemade or what you can find at local bakeries in the south ( they don't use lard )...
> 
> ...British beef tastes different from U.S. beef.  British beef is fed out on barley where U.S. beef is fed out on corn...
> 
> ...


That was one thing that really surprised me about the NM cuisine - the importance of lard. We made re-fried beans with and without lard and the difference was incredible. I will be back in Santa Fe at the end of May for a few days and will replenish my stocks of chili powder.

Yes you are right the beef tastes different. The grass and corn may be one of the causes however I think you let your cattle get significantly larger in the US than we do in the UK. I am not sure if this is still the case but in the US you also used growth hormones in cattle to increase the meat yield. This may have also affect the texture and flavour. I know that the use of hormones resulted in US beef being banned from import into Europe for a long time - and maybe still is. I must admit though I do like the American beef when I am over there. When I used to go to Iowa one of my favourite restaurants was a place called "Rubes" that was attached to the local meat packers in Marshalltown. It was one big daddy of a charcoal grill in the middle of the restaurant and you would select your half cow (maybe a slight exaggeration!) from the refrigerator and throw it on the grill while you stood around and drank beer.

I know what you are saying Danny about product variation - companies often reformulate products to what they think will increase their popularity locally and this can be disappointing. We just have to learn to adapt and adjust accordingly.

I do miss going into a supermarket in the US and seeing the bays of chillies of various sizes and heats piled high. The options here are limited as you say so I try to grow a selection in the greenhouse. We can get smoked Ancho and Chipotle chillies here though but they are not cheap. The supermarket standard chilies are a reasonable jalapeno substitute but as you say they can vary in heat.


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## kc5tpy (Jan 14, 2014)

Hello folks.  Didn't mean to rant, sorry.  Wade is right about using lard in making many Mexican/TexMex/NM recipes.  That also just points to another difference, the lard tastes different.  When I post a recipe on the group page, it has usually been adapted for use here in the U.K..  I have not allowed for the measurement differences as I have only given these to family in the past and I have given them a conversion chart.  In the future I will also include changes to the measures.  MarkUK has tried my potato salad recipe and seems to really like it.  The original recipe calls for a certain potato we have available in south Tx.  If you tried the salad with that potato, the difference is day and night.  I do try to offer good substitutions readily available here in the U.K..  I try to help folks get the closest to what they would get in the States as possible.  Good luck.  We have hi-jacked Darwins thread to the max.  Sorry Darwin.  I should have started a new thread.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## darwin101 (Jan 14, 2014)

No worries on the hijack, it's all about sharing and learning.   I just put a big pork loin into a brine/cure, going to try and make a batch of tasso this weekend.  

Wade, Snow Cap Lard is sold in almost every store here in the southwest, it seems to be a staple item in Mexican cooking.  I grew up using bacon drippings for lots of the cajun / creole dishes that we prepared, so I guess its use what you can afford and to not waste anything.


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