My family wasn’t big on vacations – no annual trip to Cape Cod
for a week or Disney World vacations that went on three years too many. Ever couple of years, we'd visit a family friend's house in Biddeford, Maine. I've been there only once or twice since I was a kid, but even just looking at the picture up there, thinking about climbing out on the rocks, the smell of the ocean filling me, and I'm calm.
We did take one epic family vacation, though. Hijinks did ensue, but
there was very little drama. We flew to
England and drove to Scotland for my Great Aunt Jane’s 80th birthday. We landed at Heathrow in August of 1990
dressed for your average English weather, but we were met with a heat
wave. We were in jeans and long sleeves
and sweaters and we climbed into a rental car the size of a bathtub with 22 days
worth of luggage for four and drove through a couple hundred miles of
countryside, smelling almost as charming as the sheep out the window.
There were only a few radio channels with only a few songs
and a couple of radio shows, which we started listening to after the weirdness
of listening to Johnny Gill sing “I Wanna Rub You the Right Way” with our
parents became too much. To this day, my
family can recall the full and extended – and invented – lyrics to Suzanne
Vega’s Tom’s Diner at the mention of a cow or sheep. We’ve been known to burst into song – just try
us.
My sister wasn’t much of an eater then. She was your classic picky ten-year-old – ten
times cuter than she was accommodating at mealtime. The one food she was willing to order and
continued to eat nearly daily was chili.
The first time she ordered it we were completely perplexed – those crazy
Brits! We’d never seen chili served over
rice before.
Now I recognize the genius of it. First, it helps stretch a pot of chili for a
crowd. Second, a bowl of chili is
essentially a giant bowl of meat, which is really more meat than a person needs
to eat in a sitting, zombies excepted. At our house, chili is always served over rice
and our California living-inspired additions are Greek yogurt, local pepper
jack cheese and fresh cilantro leaves and chunks of avocado.
It’s taken a few goes, but I can say for certain this is now
our official house chili.
Wicked Delicious Spicy Chili
Ingredients
2 pieces speck, bacon, or prosciutto
3 lbs ground beef
½ tsp coarse kosher salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbs Ancho chili powder
3 Tbs medium-hot chili Powder (see note below)
2 Tbs hot chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
1 cup (8 oz.) low salt beef broth
2 14 oz cans of beans, drained (kidney, pinto, or one of
each)
1 Tbs plus 1tsp cider vinegar
1 Tbs coarnmeal
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
A dust – barely a smidgen of allspice
Directions
Add speck or other pork choice to a cold large, heavy
bottomed pot. I most often use my
Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 7-1/4-Quart Round French Oven, Flame. When the speck has
surrendered it’s fat and your pan is glossy, add the beef, salt and pepper and
brown thoroughly. Take your time – this
builds flavor. When it’s satisfactorily
browned (this could be 10 – 15 minutes, easily), add the chopped onion and
garlic and simmer, turning regularly, until the onion is translucent.
At this point, if you’ve used fattier beef and your beef is wet
with drippings, ladle off most of the fat. Add all of your chili powders,
cumin, tomatoes with juices, beef broth, and cocoa powder. Simmer on low heat for at least an hour with
a tight-fitting lid on; alternately, cook on low in slow cooker or in the oven
at 300 for 90 minutes.
Now test for salt – you may have lost some in the ladling of
fat. Add beans, vinegar, cornmeal, and
Worcestershire sauce. Stick your finger
in some Allspice and the rub your fingers over the pot – I’m telling you, going
too far here could be disastrous. But
getting it right – it adds that certain je ne sais quoi….
At this point, test for heat – if you need more kick, add
cayenne to taste. Most people will find
this just right as is, and many people will find it too hot as is. Know your dinner guests, but don’t be afraid
to take a risk – the rice, cheese, yogurt or sour cream, cilantro and avocado
will all balance the heat. And you can
always put some sliced jalapenos on the table, too.
Notes:
For spices, I’ve grown attached to Penzey’s. You can get big pouches of the chili powders
more cost effectively than at the grocery store. If you’re in SoCal, I’d also try your
neighborhood market, if it stocks lots of Mexican foods.
The deal with the speck is this: we’re eating less meat on a
daily basis, but being able to add a small hint of smokey, meaty flavor to
beans or greens makes such a huge difference to the final dish. We can get some local speck and prosciutto made
in Iowa that’s great – I keep a pack in the fridge and use a single slice or
two as I need it.
I buy really good quality grass-fed ground beef, but I buy
the higher fat stuff then just assume I’ll have to drain off fat after I’ve
browned it.
Finally, one of the things I love about chili is how well it freezes. I put a few cups of chili in a small freezer bag and let it freeze flat, for easy defrosting. This recipe should make three quart-sized freezer bags of chili, plus a bit. Each bag will serve four, or three bountifully, if you serve it over rice.
Enjoy!
Yum! I want to make this for when we watch the Oscars this weekend.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby will be so happy if I make this for him! Sounds delish and so comforting. I love the addition of avocado and cilantro. You are becoming a true Cali girl!
ReplyDelete