My lovely wife and two longtime friends of ours recently went camping at the picturesque and fun-filled Shawnee State Park in central PA.
My friend loves her propane stove, but I prefer to rough it and cook over the coals. This chili was a crowd pleaser, and will work on a stove indoors for all you tenderfoots. Or is it tenderfeet?
I do recommend a proper, cast iron, footed dutch oven for this recipe. And you'll need some way to keep your dutch oven above the coals; a movable grill grate to place over the fire will work best. But any old grate can make do. Just keep in mind that you will need to access the fire and also to relocate things that you're cooking and keeping warm in relation to that fire.
This could serve 6, but 4 is safer because people WILL want seconds.
Start with some charcoal (you have a chimney starter, right?) and then add hard wood pieces get a good fire going.
When everything is ashed over, place your dutch oven over the fire (do not preheat) and add 4 strips of bacon, chopped up.
Once the bacon renders and starts to crisp, remove it and let sit on the oven lid near the fire to discourage hungry flies and critters.
Now start cooking 3 lbs of beef chuck, cut into 1 -1 1/2 inch pieces. Do this in batches and brown well. As each batch is done, remove the pieces of beef to the grate but don't let them sit right over the flames.
When the beef is done add 2 big chopped onions and some salt, and cook until they soften.
Now add chili powder, as much as you like (I like at least 3 tbsp for this amount of meat). What kind you ask? Here's mine: Toast 2 ancho chilies (dried poblanos) and 3 dried guajillo chilies in a pan. Don't burn! Add them to a blender with 1 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp garlic powder (not salt) and 2 tsp dried oregano and whizz very thoroughly. Always allow the powder to settle before taking the lid off and looking in or . . . well . . . you'll find out, dumb ass.
Cook the chili powder with the onions for a minute, then put back the beef and the bacon bits, add one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (I like Sclafani, if you can find them) and enough water---or broth if this is a particularly luxurious camp site---to just come level with the meat.
Now cover the dutch oven and place it right in the coals. Now you know what those little feet are for! Add a few coals on top of the lid. Now you know what that lip on the lid is for! Now leave it to its own devices for a spell. One important note: you do not want a raging inferno here. That will boil the chili too hard and toughen the meat. Nor do you want just dying embers. A nice even simmer and coals that will peter out over the next 2 - 3 hours is what you're looking for (a 300 degree oven works indoors).
At the end of that time, open the lid, admire the deep mahogany liquid and tissue-tender meat. Taste for salt and maybe even a bit more chili powder.
Serve up bowls of red and graciously accept the thanks of you camp mates. You are now a first-rate chuck master, pardner!
My friend loves her propane stove, but I prefer to rough it and cook over the coals. This chili was a crowd pleaser, and will work on a stove indoors for all you tenderfoots. Or is it tenderfeet?
I do recommend a proper, cast iron, footed dutch oven for this recipe. And you'll need some way to keep your dutch oven above the coals; a movable grill grate to place over the fire will work best. But any old grate can make do. Just keep in mind that you will need to access the fire and also to relocate things that you're cooking and keeping warm in relation to that fire.
This could serve 6, but 4 is safer because people WILL want seconds.
Start with some charcoal (you have a chimney starter, right?) and then add hard wood pieces get a good fire going.
When everything is ashed over, place your dutch oven over the fire (do not preheat) and add 4 strips of bacon, chopped up.
Once the bacon renders and starts to crisp, remove it and let sit on the oven lid near the fire to discourage hungry flies and critters.
Now start cooking 3 lbs of beef chuck, cut into 1 -1 1/2 inch pieces. Do this in batches and brown well. As each batch is done, remove the pieces of beef to the grate but don't let them sit right over the flames.
When the beef is done add 2 big chopped onions and some salt, and cook until they soften.
Now add chili powder, as much as you like (I like at least 3 tbsp for this amount of meat). What kind you ask? Here's mine: Toast 2 ancho chilies (dried poblanos) and 3 dried guajillo chilies in a pan. Don't burn! Add them to a blender with 1 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp garlic powder (not salt) and 2 tsp dried oregano and whizz very thoroughly. Always allow the powder to settle before taking the lid off and looking in or . . . well . . . you'll find out, dumb ass.
Cook the chili powder with the onions for a minute, then put back the beef and the bacon bits, add one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (I like Sclafani, if you can find them) and enough water---or broth if this is a particularly luxurious camp site---to just come level with the meat.
Now cover the dutch oven and place it right in the coals. Now you know what those little feet are for! Add a few coals on top of the lid. Now you know what that lip on the lid is for! Now leave it to its own devices for a spell. One important note: you do not want a raging inferno here. That will boil the chili too hard and toughen the meat. Nor do you want just dying embers. A nice even simmer and coals that will peter out over the next 2 - 3 hours is what you're looking for (a 300 degree oven works indoors).
At the end of that time, open the lid, admire the deep mahogany liquid and tissue-tender meat. Taste for salt and maybe even a bit more chili powder.
Serve up bowls of red and graciously accept the thanks of you camp mates. You are now a first-rate chuck master, pardner!
Postscript: Fans of chili and presidential history should check this recipe out
It was a mighty delicious meal indeed.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Couldn't find a way to work the word "creel" and a photo into the post?
Creels and chili don not intersect at any point.
ReplyDelete