Jimi's Back Country Chili
Recipes: what are they? If you know how to cook what you want, you don’t need ‘em. If you need a guide, they can be good. Sometimes when something I cook works out well, I write down the recipe for it.
This one is from 2006. My family has a tradition of going to Bear Valley between Christmas and New Year’s to ski, snowboard, play board games. We also eat.
This recipe was originally for 12 servings: that was before some of us moved to New Zealand. I’ve made the chili again each year: it has become a little tradition of its own … it is also known affectionately as “road kill chili.”
This year I made it for a smaller group: 6.
Here’s that recipe.
[Prep: 30 minutes. Cook: 3 hours.]
1 lb beef (e.g., boneless chuck) in 1” cubes
½ lb ground beef, ½ lb ground pork
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4-5 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, minced
4 tablespoons New Mexico chili powder
1½ tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 28-oz can peeled, diced tomatoes & juice
1 15-oz can chicken broth
1-2 teaspoons salt and black pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 15-oz cans black beans
Season meat cubes with ½ teaspoon salt and fresh ground black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the beef cubes, stirring frequently, adding oil if needed.
Add ground meats, salt & pepper, and repeat process.
Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, ½ teaspoon salt; and, if needed, a
tablespoon olive oil. Cook over medium high heat, stirring often, until vegetables soften and lightly brown, 4-6 minutes.
Stir in: the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and salt to taste. Cook for one minute over medium high heat. Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Simmer covered for 1½ hours, adjust seasoning if needed, and uncover for one more hour, stirring occasionally.
Drain and rinse 2 cans black beans & add; cover. Simmer 20 minutes and serve with corn bread, rice, or saltine crackers.
YUM!
