Texas Red Chili - Bowl of Red

beef chuck

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: chicken thighs

Ground turkey reduces fat content while chicken is often less expensive.

jalapeños

🥗Healthier: bell peppers

💰Cheaper: canned green chilies

Bell peppers provide sweetness and are milder.

beef broth

🥗Healthier: vegetable broth

💰Cheaper: water with seasoning

Vegetable broth lowers calories and can be made easily.

chili powder

🥗Healthier: paprika and cayenne

💰Cheaper: cayenne pepper

Paprika adds flavor while cayenne provides heat.

Prepare your spice dumps. Mix spice dumps #1 and #2 and set aside.

Prepare the chilis: Stem and seed all the dried chilis. Place in a skillet on medium high heat and toast the chilis. Flip and stir until fragrant. Remove chilis and place in boiling water. Once chilis are soft, remove from the water and set aside.

Prepare the chili: In a hot skillet, heat ¼ cup of olive oil until it fries a pinch of flour. Mix in ½ C of all-purpose flour and stir vigorously. Once it gets to a golden color, add 16 oz of chicken stock to this blonde roux and bring to a simmer. Now add the roux, chilis, 3 cloves of garlic and ½ T of salt to a blender and blend until smooth. This is now your chili sauce. Set aside.

Brown the meat: Add some lard or olive oil to a dutch oven or heavy cast iron skillet. Brown the cubes of meat over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes. Brown in 2 batches if necessary, so as not to overcrowd the pan. Drain off excess grease.

Reduce heat to medium and add your chili sauce and beef stock. If you used a cast iron skillet you will need a large pot to continue.

Cook the chili: Add spice dump #1. Then float the serrano peppers. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for 45 minutes. Add spice dump #2. At this stage taste test it. Add optional Meat Church Chili Seasoning to taste if desired. Simmer for at least another hour stirring occasionally. The chili will be 'done' at this point although I love to simmer mine all day.

Remove from the heat.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary