WetLeather Recipe Database - food for bikers

Name:	Chili	Contributor:	Rick McKee
Description:	Rick's CookOff Chili	Posted:	2001-04-17
Key words:	chili, beef	Category:	Main Dishes
ID:	231	Updated:	2006-01-10 11:49:09
Ingredients:	12 California Chili pods, dried 12 New Mexico Chili pods, dried 10 lbs sirloin tip 4 medium onions, diced 4 Tbsp bacon grease or butter 6 cloves garlic 1 tsp cumin powder 2 bay leaves 2 Tbsp oregano, dried 7 oz can Chipotle Chilis in Adobo 6 c chili liquid, from rehydrating dried chilis 1 qt beef stock 2 Tbsp cumin powder 4 Tbsp ground corriander seed, toasted 2 Tbsp corriander seeds, whole 2 Tbsp New Mexico Chili Powder 4 Tbsp Grandma's (or dark sweet) chili powder 2 Tbsp Hungarian hot paprika 2 Tbsp cinnamon 1 tsp clove powder 3 Tbsp ground Black pepper 2 limes (juice) salt to taste garlic powder and chili powder to coat meat
Preparation:	Prep: De-stem and remove seeds from dried chili pods, roast cleaned pods until they start to blister slightly (little brownish spots) or start to smoke. DO NOT BURN! Place chilis in a large bowl and cover with about 4 qts of boiling water, weight down with a plate so all chilis are submerged. Let rehydrate for 2 hours or until fleshy and pliable. When chilis are rehydrated, place in a blender with 1 tsp cumin powder, 6 cloves garlic and enough chili water to cover (about 4 cups). Blend for 2 minutes or until a smooth paste. While chilis are rehydrating, slice sirloin (across the grain) into 1" thick steaks. Coat (thinly) with garlic powder and chili powder. Broil for 4 min a side (or until rare). After broiling sirloin, let cool while you dice the onions. Saute the onions for 10 minutes or until they start to caramelize. Add the dried oregano and bay leaves and cook for a couple of minutes. Add chili paste (from rehydrated chilis) from blender and cook for about 10 minutes or until spoon leaves a clear trail on bottom of pan. While you are cooking the onions and chili paste, slice the cooled sirloin and dice into 1" chunks. Add meat to onions and chili paste, rinse blender with remaining 2 cups chili liquid and pour into pot. Bring to a slow boil. Add Chipotles in Adobo, beef stock, corriander seeds (they add a burst of flavor when you bite into them. If you don't like seeds, omit) and ground corriander seed. Bring back to slow boil and cook for 1 hour with lid. Add chili powders and paprika, clove, cinnamon and black pepper. Cook for another 2 hours with lid. Add lime juice and cook for another hour with lid ajar to help reduce liquid. At this point (4 hours cooking), the chili should be the consistency of a stew with thick gravy, not quite able to stand a spoon upright in it. At this point add salt to taste. WARNING! The final cooking will reduce the liquid even more so be careful of how much salt you put in. Let chili cool, place into a non-reactive bowl, cover and place in refrigerator overnight. The next day, slowly simmer chili for another 2 hours and then keep warm until service. You should be able to stand a spoon in the chili!
Notes:	Makes about 6 Quarts Warning! This is a spicy HOT chili. On a scale of 1-10 (my scale) I rate it a 5. If you can't handle the heat, substitute mild chilis and powder. If you delete the Chipotle chilis (they are hot, they are smoked Jalepeno peppers), it will not have the smokiness they provide but will still be acceptable chili. Be creative, adjust seasonings as you see fit after chili is completely cooked. Serving suggestions include topping with Pico De Gallo, chopped onions, cilantro, fresh hot peppers, cheese and fried tortilla strips. A cooking tip: I over-salted the chili and used the old cooks remedy of slicing 6 small raw potatoes in half and cooking them in the chili for about 20 minutes. The Potassium in the potatoes binds the Sodium, in the salt, to the potatoes. Just remove the potatoes and you remove the salt. It works!
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