Greg's Rocket Fuel Chili
Greg’s Rocket Fuel Chili
This recipe creates a southwestern style chili, as opposed to the sort of thing you will find up around Cleveland, or back east. While the chili from those parts of the country is indeed a fine and tasty concoction, I have always preferred the drier flavors of the southwest. This is the tame version of my recipe. Once upon a time I experimented with the hottest peppers I could find, rehydrated my dried chiles so I could scrape the flesh away from the pod by hand, and served it with habañero cornbread. Like all good recipes, this is a work in progress, but it seems to have stabilized into more or less the form I present to you today.
COOKING TIME
1-5 hours depending upon time constraints, patience, and the ability to resist temptation. Longer is better, as is produces more concentrated flavors. However, I rarely manage to take more than an hour and a half before serving.
INGREDIENTS
• 16 oz. Petite Diced Tomatoes
(or 16 oz. Crushed Tomatoes)
• 2-5 Tbsp. Corn Masa
• 5 Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 1 Onion, Small Dice
• 1 Jalapeño, Minced
• 32 Fl. Oz. Beef Stock or Broth
(Home Made or Store Bought)
• 1 Shot Tennessee Whiskey
(I use Jack Daniels)
• 1 Tbsp. Liquid Smoke
• 4 tsp. Salt
• 4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Chili Powder
(More as Desired)
• 2 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
• 12 oz. Chopped Green Chiles
(3 4oz. cans, in the ethnic aisle of the supermarket)
• 3 1/2 Cups Beans
(Home Made or, 3 14.5oz. Cans. I prefer Black Beans, personally.)
• 2lbs. Ground Beef
(I prefer to use 1/2 Regular Grind, and 1/2 Coarse Grind, as I find it improves the texture.)
• 1 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
DIRECTIONS
1) Put a large stock pot over medium heat. When the bottom of the pot is warm, add the cooking oil. When the oil is shimmering, pick up the pot and swirl it to make sure the bottom is evenly coated. Add the Onions, Jalapeño, and Garlic. This should be a fast sweat, not a sauté. Season with salt and pepper.
2) When the onions are translucent, add the green chiles, whiskey, and liquid smoke. Stir occasionally.
3) When the smell of alcohol from the whiskey has subsided, add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper again.
4) TEXTURE- The texture of the chili is determined by three things:
• The size of grind used for the meat
• How long the ground beef cooks before the cooking liquid is added
• How much Masa is added at the end
FOR SMOOTH CHILI
Add the Beef Stock Immediately behind the ground beef. Leave out the beans to get a nice hot dog chili sauce.
FOR CHILI WITH MEDIUM BODY
Cook the ground beef until it is half pink and half gray. Then add the beef stock. This is my preferred texture.
FOR CHUNKY CHILI
Thoroughly cook the ground beef before adding the beef stock. Even better is to increase the heat to medium high, and cook the beef until thoroughly done in small batches, removing to a dish until the beef is completely cooked. When all the beef is cooked through, add it back to the pot followed by the beef stock. This will result in large chunks of beef in your chili. Want it chunkier still? Buy a whole piece of beef, and slice it into cubes by hand, adding it into the pot with the ground beef.
5) When the beef is prepared for the texture you want, add the beef stock, chili powder, diced tomatoes, and cumin. Stir to incorporate. If you had the heat on Medium High, reduce it to Medium. Bring to a simmer and hold for 15 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.
6) After 15 minutes at a simmer check the chili for seasoning. Now is the time to add more salt, black pepper, cumin, or chili powder, depending on what is needed.
7) Let the chili reduce at least an inch in the pot. This is critical to good chili. The longer you can let it reduce, the better your chili will be in the end. Just be sure to stir it. Use a wooden spoon so you can scrape the bottom to make sure nothing sticks and burns. If the chili is at a rolling boil, reduce the heat till it is at a simmer.
8) When the chili has reduced to your preference, or you just can’t stand it any more and want to eat, add the corn masa. DO NOT DUMP THE MASA IN ALL AT ONCE. If you do so, it will make little starchy corn lumps in your chili. You will need a kitchen sieve, or at bare minimum a fork. Sprinkle the masa on top of the chili, then stir with the spoon. Do this a little bit at a time until the masa is completely absorbed. What you’re doing at this point is similar to making gravy. You want the masa to soak up moisture and expand, thickening the chili. And you want it to do this evenly. When the chili has almost thickened to your liking, set the heat to low, and dish out. By the time you sit down to eat (or at least by the time you go back for seconds) the chili will be just right.
This recipe freezes well, and will keep in the fridge for a week. The recipe makes a lot of chili, but the amounts can be halved easily to accommodate fewer people. If you must choose between coarse ground or regular ground beef, choose coarse ground.
To make this hotter, you can double the number of Jalapeños at the beginning, or you can use a combination of different peppers at the beginning. I used to make a version of this chili using Thai hot peppers that brought tears to many an eye.
Serving suggestions: over cornbread, with corn chips, or straight up with sour cream and cheddar cheese. I am fond of this served with a side of Jalapeño Corn bread.
If you cannot find Corn Masa, then you can use crumbled up corn chips. It isn't exactly the same, but it should work in a pinch.