Ingredients:
700g (1.5 lbs.) minced beef
½ an onion - diced
1 Tbsp. Mild Chilli Powder
1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Onion Granules or
Onion Salt
1 tsp. Dried Minced Garlic or 2 cloves of garlic –
minced
1 tsp. Dried Oregano
½ tsp. Ground Coriander
1 x 142g (5 oz.) can of
tomato puree/paste
1 can of Borlotti or Pinto
Beans with juices
A few dashes of
Worcestershire Sauce
A few dashes of Tabasco Sauce
(original)
Several tablespoons of water
A large slow cooker (crockpot)
A large slow cooker (crockpot)
I’ve changed my chilli recipe
many times over the years, doing it by taste and never really following a
recipe. I’ve often heard that original
traditional Texas chilli doesn’t have beans in
it and that beans are mainly added in the Northern part of the United States, but never in Texas.
I was born in 1972 and grew up in Texas, even living and spending time in different regions,
and had chilli made by many different people and in many different restaurants,
etc. It always had beans in it, so perhaps the tradition of having it without
beans is on the decline. I like it with
beans, but you can leave them out if you don’t.
People often use kidney beans, but we like the softer Borlotti or Pinto
beans, which are also easier to digest.
My father’s chilli was heavy on the tomato and very very spicy, always leaving
us wishing it was milder. My
grandmother’s chilli had no tomato, but lots of onion and was heavy on the
Cumin – a spice I adore. In years past,
I tried to marry those two ideas and used to add canned diced tomatoes to my
chilli, but between that and liking it mild, I felt it came off like a slightly
spicy Bolognese with beans, so I started changing my method. I came up with this recipe after years of
experimentation. I discovered that it
tastes best out of a slow cooker and with plenty of Cumin, just a mild to
medium kick of chilli, and with tomato paste, but no diced tomatoes. I add my spices by taste and instinct, so
these measurements are approximate. Feel
free to alter them to make it spicier or milder to your taste.
Method:
Dice half an onion and put it
in a large slow cooker. Next, lightly
brown the ground beef in non-stick pan for a few minutes and then put it into
the slow cooker. Keep the meat pan on a
low heat and begin adding your dry spices into the pan for toasting. Toast them for a minute or two until
aromatic, stirring around with a wooden spoon.
Dump the toasted spices into the slow cooker with the meat and
onions. Then, de-glaze the pan with a
couple of tablespoons of water and pour this liquid into the slow cooker. Finally, add a few more tablespoons of water,
a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce and a dash of salt to the mixture and stir
well. Place the lid on the slow cooker
and set to high. After 1 hour, turn down
to low and stir the mixture. After
another hour, add the tomato paste, a couple more dashes of salt, and a few
tablespoons of water and stir. Place the
lid back on and wait a further hour. Add
the beans, stir and taste for spice. At
this point, add any additional spice you think it may need (I like a few dashes
of Tabasco, a few more dashes of salt and a dash more of chilli powder and
cumin at this stage) and leave to cook for a further 2 to 2 and ½ hours. This is minimum time – you can cook for
longer if it suits your schedule. As
with most meat or stew-type mixtures in a slow cooker, it only improves with
time. If you’re going to cook it for
longer, you need not turn it to high for the first hour. **Please note that this does come out fairly mild with these amounts and types of spice. My young son likes just a tiny bit of spice, I like a little more and my husband likes a bit more than me. I find it's easiest to make something relatively mild and then we adults can add Tabasco to our bowl to spice it up a little. If you prefer, you can use a medium or hot chilli powder instead of mild.
I like to serve mine with
scratch-made cornbread and grated cheddar and sour cream
to garnish. It really hits the spot on a
cold, wet winter night. We also carry on my family's tradition: we cut our cornbread in half and eat half with the chili. After we've finished our chili, we eat the other half with butter and honey for an after-dinner treat! My son loves this as much as I did as a child.
