Big Daddy's Kitchen

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Thai Chile

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Big Daddy's Texas Red

My standard chili served me well over the years until I discovered the joy of Internet shopping. This gave me access to all sorts of wonderful ingredients previously unavailable. For chili this meant access to real chiles. Ancho chiles (the dried form of the Pablano) can be rehydrated and simmered to create a wonderful puree that adds character and depth to all sorts of dishes. Not wanting to change my original chili recipe (nostalgia, you know) I created Texas Red. This chili recipe is now my very favorite.

1 28oz can	crushed tomatoes (lo-salt)
4 cups	beef broth
1 pound	ground pork
2 pounds	beef round (coarse chili grind: slice into ¼" or less strips about 1" long)
4 medium	dried Ancho chiles
3 tablespoons	Pendery’s Top Hat chili powder blend (substitute if you absolutely must)
1 tablespoon	ground cumin
2 tablespoons	cider vinegar
1 tablespoon	Paprika
1 teaspoon	salt
1 tablespoon	Mexican oregano
3 dried	hot chiles of your choice, crushed (optional - depending on desired heat)
6 cloves	garlic minced
2 cups	cooked pinto beans (optional)
2 medium	bay leaves
2 medium	onions, chopped
2 large cans	Anaheim Chiles chopped (called green chiles in the market)
¼ cup	pickled Jalapeños, chopped
	ground black peppercorns
¼ cup	olive oil

Remove the seeds and stem from the Ancho chiles. Put the chiles into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. When done remove from heat, cover and set aside.

While the chiles are simmering brown the ground pork, drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef round and ground black pepper to taste, to the pot. Break up any lumps and cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is evenly browned.

Stir in the ground chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic, bay leaf and onions. Add beef broth to barely cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes (adding more broth if necessary).

While the beef and onions are simmering place the Ancho chiles in a blender with about ¼ cup of the water from the saucepan and whir until pureed. Stir the pureed Anchos and all remaining ingredients into the meat mixture and simmer for a ½ hour.

For best results allow chili to cool completely and then reheat.