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The romance of Chili. The chuck wagon straggling behind the herd of steaming cattle, pans a clanking, wheels a s squeaking. Gabby Hayes chewing tobacco and arguing with himself as he overtakes the cows and sets up the campsite for the tanned and filthy dirty wranglers. And he starts up a fire of cow pats over which he slings a couple of coffee pots, filled with crik water, and a giant cauldron. Chucks in bricks of dried beef, spices, clumsily slices onions directly over the pot and pours over more crik water. And there it is. A big ol pot o chili, stirred with a branch, ready when the cow pokes are done a-poking and need their sustenance. An idyllic picture but not one I wanted to recreate as the temperature drops in Illinois and my wagon's got no brakes. What I did take from the scene I just made up in my head brain was to only use what I had to hand, and what I had preserved. No trips to the markets, no freshly butchered artisan beef ribs, just what I had in the cupboards. So from the preservation station that is the freezer I grabbed some packages. I found a Beef Heart, a slice of Chuck, a Lump of Chuck, a Beef Shin and mystery meat turned out to be a small bit of Pork Loin.   Now to the flavour. Not having grown up in a Chili region, I wanted to see what was the generalised American idea of what a chili should taste like.   Doubt that was it. From my spice cupboard I brought out a series of Chilies and Spices.  (Quantities used were larger than seen here) Ancho, Mulato, Pasilla, Guajillo, California, Chipotle, Arbol and Pequin. Cumin, Corriander Seed, Star Anise, White and Black Pepper, some Cloves. Bay leaves. Collected Onions and Garlic  Because you need some vegetables. Made a pot of strong espresso.  Defrosted and heated some home made beef stock (Not pictured. It looked like beef stock) So, to work. Toasted the spices, ground them up. Gently toasted the Chilies until they were soft.  Charred some garlic. Chilies, Garlic Cloves and an Onion were then put in blitzing container and had the hot coffee and boiling stock poured over them.  Left to infuse and soften whilst meats were sliced and diced, salted and peppered.  Large pieces of fat rendered, meats were browned in rendered beef fat.   Meat scooped out. Onions, garlic, anchovies and ground spices dropped in the beef fat.    Chilies were pulverised and blended into a paste. Paste and meats joined the vegetables where they slowly simmered for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, in the distant recent past, I pickled some nectarines      Blanch the fruit with a cross cut into its bottom, like a tomato. Peel like a tomato. Dice. Mix Sugar, Salt, Cider Vinegar, Water, Coriander Seed, Black Pepper, Juniper, Cloves and pieces of Ginger and heat in a pan until things have dissolved. Pour over Nectarine and can it. Leave in fridge.  Not Chili  Made Cornbread. Or, as I couldn't be arsed to put my waffle maker away, made Cornbread Waffles. AP Flour, Corn Meal, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Butter, Buttermilk, Egg, Treacle. Combine dry. Combine wet. Combine wet and dry. Leave for a bit. Then Waffle!    Still not Chili.  To taste, I melted in Dark Chocolate, a bit of Marmite, Worcestershire Sauce and some Chipotle Hot Sauce. Looking to increase the beefiness of the dish. Then some more preserved food. Beans and canned Green Chilies. I like beans in chili and the canned chilis towards the end brighten the dish up.   A bit more simmering and it was Chili. Garnishes provided are Pickled Nectarines, Cornbread Waffles, Pickled Onions (These are always in my fridge), Queso, Sour Cream, Avocado, Cilantro and Raw Onion.   Looks like Chili. Plate like Gabby Hayes thought himself some fancy dan Easterner with a manicure and teeth.  So what makes this more Chili than other Chili? Chili looks to be a very personal thing. This is my Chili and I'd be happy to share it. It took what I had and turned into a deeply flavoured, warmly spiced stew of Beef, Aliums and Chilies. An amalgam of preserved foods from differing cultures that came together to make something that is its own beast. And the pictures really don't show how dark red brown the melange got. The addition of the pickles made it very me too, as I love to use them to perk up a dish, colour and taste.
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Oct 28, 2017 20:48
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| # ? May 5, 2024 17:59 |
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Great looking chili! I am mildly suspicious that you just happened to have all the ingredients for chili on hand rather than shopping for them, but c’est la vie. Can you tell when you bite into different cuts of meat, or do they all kind of feel the same after the stewing?
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Oct 29, 2017 15:11
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If only you’d just run out of beans...
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Oct 29, 2017 15:42
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Cavenagh posted:Cornbread Waffles
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Oct 30, 2017 17:48
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fr0id posted:Great looking chili! I am mildly suspicious that you just happened to have all the ingredients for chili on hand rather than shopping for them, but c’est la vie. Can you tell when you bite into different cuts of meat, or do they all kind of feel the same after the stewing? My cupboards are pretty well always stocked with dried Mexican and Indian chillies, plus I've got pickled garden cayennes somewhere. Plus a bunch of chilli based pastes and sauces. The freezer gets stuffed with odds and ends of meat that I've either thought a bargain but not got a recipe for and forgot about, and meats that I got too much of so single shin cuts float around. Each cut does have a different texture and a different taste. The heart is irony with a nice firm texture, the shin got very tender but had the most beef flavour, the chuck was juicy chuck and the pork was discernible. Dr. Pangloss posted:If only you’d just run out of beans... More beans I say!
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Nov 1, 2017 16:58
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