Chili Con Carne

(This article originally appeared in the January 2006

issue of LaBrea Living Magazine. )

Chili Individuation

by dale reinert, food editor

I am emotionally connected to my dad. For many years, he had estranged himself from the family. He kept his distance through beer and sleeping in the lazy boy.

But over the years he and I found common ground through sharing differing opinions on what may be the most American of all foods -- chili.

Some argue that Chili -- a stew of chile pods, onions and peppers -- was created in Mexico. Other say Texas is its birthplace. And most forget that Los Angeles was once commonly accepted as the chili capital of the world. Giant Fiberglas chili pots sat atop a chain of chili joints during LA's architecture-reflects-product period, the 1950s when burgers, fries and hotdogs were often finished with a ladle chili.

Even Tommy of Tommy Burgers fame is credited with introducing "chili-size" and a "chili straight" into the American vernacular.

Cincinnati's Skyline Chili introduced America to the terms such as 3-way, 4-way and 5-way chili. Straight chili in Cincinnati is a tomatoey gravy over spaghetti. Adding beans or onions or cheese is picking a "way" to have your chili customized.

The chili upon which I was raised was absent the spaghetti of Cincinnati or the rice of New Mexico or the bread bowls that seem popular in some are eateries.

The chili I was raised on was a hearty simmer of fried ground beef, diced tomatoes, red kidney beans, onions, green bell peppers and a sprinkling of chili powder, happily served with a heap of crumbled saltines stirred in to absorb all the broth. In adolescence, my dad discovered V-8 juice and soon the chili was fortified with it.

As I moved around the country working for a school district here and there and as I vacationed in varying parts of the south central and western states, my own variation of chili emerged.

I shifted from solely using chili powder to using both chili powder and ground New Mexico Chiles. I added Pasilla Peppers to the Bell Peppers. Caramelizing the onions, instead of briefly sweating them, as my dad had done, brings sweetness to the spice of chiles. And switching from ground beef to cubed chuck roast became my signature within the family. Each individual has their own chili expression.

Dale's Chili Con Carne

Ingredients:
2 pounds Chuck roast cubed into bite-size pieces
1 half Green bell pepper, medium dice
1 half Red bell pepper, medium dice
1 half Yellow bell pepper, medium dice
4 large Pasilla Chiles, fine dice
1 large Onion, medium dice
1 can 28 ounce can of tomato puree
1 can Beef broth or stock, low sodium
4 cans Beans (see note below)
2 Tbls. Chili powder
2 Tbls. New Mexico Chiles, ground
2 Tbls. Cumin powder, ground
1\8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Black pepper

Procedure:
Prepare the peppers, onion, chiles and beef by cubing or dicing them and placing them into separate bowls. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Mix together the chili and cumin powders, the cayenne pepper and the ground New Mexico chiles in a small prep bowl and set aside.

Heat a heavy-bottomed soup pot or LeCrueset Casserole. Coat the heated pan's bottom with Canola oil. Add the peppers and saute on medium high heat until translucent. Place in a large bowl and repeat with the diced Pasilla Chiles. This will take about 10 minutes.

Saute the onions next, but turn the flame down to medium and brown the onions until a good dark caramel color develops. This may take up to 20 minutes. Remove to the same bowl as the peppers and chiles.

Add more oil to the pan and saute the cubed chuck roast in small batches. The small batches encourage additional caramelization. When the meat is browned on both sides, remove and reserve with the onions, peppers and chiles.

Once all the meat is browned and removed from the pan. Add the spice mixture. Stirring constantly, move the spices around the pan. This "heat treatment" will awaken the ground spices' flavors and adds a layer of subtle smokiness.

After a minute or so, add the tomato puree and can of beef broth. Stir again to scrap free the spices and tiny pieces of beef, onion and vegetables that have been caramelized to the pan.
Add back the meat, onion, peppers and chiles and stir to incorporate. Cover with a heavy lid and place in the oven for 2-3 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and add the beans. Because everything is cooked, you only need to warm the beans through. The residual heat can do that or place the pan of chili atop a low flame. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Tips:
Chuck roast is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat. Cooking it long and slow allows it to gain flavor from the melting connective tissues and become tender.

Wait to add the beans until the very end because the salt used to sweat, saute and brown the meat and vegetables will toughen the skin of the beans the longer the beans cook in the chili.
Use beans, like Bush's Best Beans for Chili in Mild Sauce, or your favorite beans. I stay away from red kidney beans because of their already-tough exterior skin.

Serve over white or seasoned rice and with a variety of accompaniments, like shredded cheese, Salsa, slivered scallions, chopped onions, hot sauce, biscuits, corn bread, saltine crackers, or even Fritos corn chips.

Pasilla chiles are typically mild but can easily have some heat to them as well. So, taste them raw to see exactly how many you want to add to your chili.

In prepping for this article, I spoke with my younger brother Wayne, a certifiable "chili head." He says he places one large, peeled carrot in the bottom of the chili pot. He says the carrot prevents gas. I am more than a little skeptical at this.