Chili and Cornbread

Another week is complete, with a two-day trip into the city and the attached mad rush to complete the 101 things allocated to this trip. (The list of targets to be serviced never gets finished, and as fast as you pull one thing off, two get added.)

Back home, a local farm pinged me. It seems the butcher made a bit of a hash on one side of beef, and they had a large amount of stew meat offered at significantly reduced prices. Whilst I can not handle a full-side beef, I can take a few pounds of pasture-raised, grass-fed, organic stew meat for ground beef prices.

Upon picking up my beef, I can see it is truly stew meat: largish chunks of beef, some appearing to be close to filet and some close to brisket. I’ll need to sort out a proper cooking method for this, like, say, “STEWING.” (Sometimes I am so brilliant, I astound myself… Only with my denseness…)

Now, harking back to a conversation with my apprentice (we were discussing curries), perhaps a Texas Curry would be the trick here. Let’s make Chili, and as a side dish, let’s say no to the nan, and yeah to another Texas favorite, Cornbread.

One has to understand that chili originated in Texas, in San Antonio to be exact. Chili con carne or chili con carne meaning ‘chili with meat’, and almost always known as simply chili or chili, is a spicy stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), and often tomatoes and beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin. The original dish originated in southern Texas with working-class Mexican women.

Geographic and personal tastes involve different types of meat and other ingredients. Recipes provoke disputes among enthusiasts, some of whom insist that the word chili applies only to the basic dish, without beans and tomatoes. Chili con carne is a frequent dish for cook-offs and is used as an ingredient in other dishes.

Chili originated from what is now northern Mexico and southern Texas. Unlike some other Texas foods, such as barbecued brisket, chili largely originated with working-class Tejana and Mexican women. The chili queens of San Antonio, Texas were particularly famous in previous decades for selling their inexpensive chili-flavored beef stew in their casual “chili joints”.

My recipe will please many and anger many. The use of beans and tomatoes is really considered an adulteration of “real chili.” I’ll serve it with minced onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, cornbread, and an ice-cold beer.

Chili con carne

Chili with meat, perfect for a cold evenings meal, with many follow on meals afterwards

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Southwestern

Servings 8 servings

Calories 218 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lb Stew meat (beef sirloin and chuck) diced to 1/2" cubes
• 1 ea Jalapeno Pepper washed, seeded, diced
• 1 ea Yellow Onion peeled, diced
• 4 cups Stock Chicken or Beef
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes 16 oz fire roasted is nice
• 1 can Pinto Beans Or make your own
• 4 ea Garlic Cloves Peeled / diced / crushed
• 2 tsp Paprika smoked is nice
• 3 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Oregano Dried
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Coarse Ground
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 tsp Masa Flour Optional
• 3 slices Bacon Diced

Instructions

 

• In a large sauce pan, fry off the bacon and reserve. Keep the fat
• Set heat to medium, Add Onion to sauce pan and cook until soft and translucent
• Add the garlic, jalapeno and cook until fragrant
• Add the beef and saute until browned
• Add chicken stock, seasonings, tomatoes and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat to medium low and maintain a low simmer. Simmer for 2-2 and 1/2 hours

  Checking / stirring hourly, add stock as needed
• Check the beef for tenderness / done. (it should crumble when squeezed)
• Add drained beans and return to a simmer for an additional 30 minutes
• If using the masa flour, mix with water until a smooth paste forms. Stir into chili and simmer an additional 10-20 minutes or until the chili thickens

Notes

Serve over rice, with tortilla chips, corn chips, cheese, diced raw onion, corn bread.  Use any all or none of the above to create your meal

Left overs can be served straight up, as above or incorporated into another dish

Nutrition

Calories: 218kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 27gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 965mgPotassium: 526mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 779IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Beans, Beef

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Corn Bread

A simple, corn bread made in the versatile cast-iron skillet. Tastes great and is a good base recipe to experiment with. Cast-iron skillets take a little bit of time to warm up. Pre-warming the skillet allows the corn bread to cook evenly. I’ll add jalapeno and sweet onion as texture enhancers

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Breads, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 1 Loaf

Calories 1543 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup Corn Meal Yellow, of course
• 1 cup AP Flour
• 1 cup Milk Sweet or buttermilk, whole full fat.
• 4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt Kosher, of course
• 1 ea Egg Free Range, Large or better
• 1/4 cup Oil Vegetable, Canola or taste free
• 1/2 Large Sweet Onion Peeled and Diced
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper Large, washed, seeded, stemmed, diced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425 F . Place 9-inch cast-iron skillet in oven to warm it.
• Mix corn meal and mix in large bowl; Let rest for 5 minutes
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into corn meal mixture. Mix onion, jalapeno, and eggs into the corn meal mixture until you have a smooth batter, about 1 minute. Let rest 5 minutes
• Remove skillet and oil, or use butter for more flavor; Pour batter into skillet
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from oven, turn out and slice into wedges. Serve as a side to chili, beans, or just with butter

Notes

One can add sugar, if one wants, but that would be corn cake.

One can add 1 can of creamed corn

One can add diced bell red and green bell peppers

One can top with shredded cheddar cheese

Nutrition

Calories: 1543kcalCarbohydrates: 186gProtein: 31gFat: 78gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 1787mgPotassium: 3158mgFiber: 19gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 546IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 1249mgIron: 9mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!