As a public service to the world, I will herewith record for posterity the recipe of the chili I made this weekend. It was damned fine eating.
- Some country-style ribs
- A cup or so of cooking wine
- Lots of chopped garlic
- 6-8 dried peppers of the ancho variety
- A couple pounds of tomatoes
- Several large onions
- Several red bell peppers
- Several jalapeno peppers (to taste)
- Parsley (chopped)
- Oregano
- Cumin
- Cinnamon
- Black Pepper
- Salt
- A can or two of chicken broth
- A bottle of beer
- Several pounds of hamburger
- A pound of chicken breasts (or thighs I guess, if you're an ass man)
- Several slices of bacon
- Some pepperoni (my son's addition)
- Beans
Throw the ribs in a crock-pot with a couple of the peppers, the wine and a little water. Cook for a couple of hours.
Remove the ribs and cube, reserving the big chunks of pork fat that cheap country style ribs will most likely have.
Take the juice from the crock-pot and put it in a sauce-pan with the rest of the peppers. Put the pork fat & any rib bones in the juice as well, and let it simmer until it reduces a bit. Remove the peppers and strain out the fat cubes.
Put the peppers and the strained juice into a blender and puree. This is the chili-base from which you will erect a wonderful chili. Bow before it once or twice, so that it smiles benevolently upon you.
While the base is simmering, heat your barbeque to high. Put the red bells, the jalapeno, the onions and the tomatoes over the fire to get a nice fire-roasted taste. Remove the tomatoes after their skins fall off. Remove the peppers once they turn black. Take the onions in once some nice grill marks are visible.
Remove the waxy skin from the peppers, and then puree them with the tomatoes. Give the onions a rough chop. Throw the puree and the onions into a big pot and turn the temperature on med-low. Add the broth and about half of the beer. Drink the rest of the beer. Drink it now.
Start browning the beef in a sauté pan at some point here. Throw some garlic and black pepper in as well. Once the beef is browned, drain off some of the fat, and add it to the pot.
Cube the chicken and add it to the pot.
Dice the bacon and the pepperoni up very finely, and add them to the pot.
Season the pot to taste with the parsley, oregano, cumin and salt. Add the barest pinch of cinnamon as well.
Once the base is ready, add it to the rest of the chili. Let everything simmer for about an hour, then add the beans. What's that you say? True chili doesn't have beans? Really. Well, aren't you a mouthy little bastard. Why don't you take your ten-gallon hat back to Texas and make your own damned chili.
Anyways, the beans. I prefer a mix of kidney beans, black beans and chili beans, but whatever you like will probably be good.
Let the chili return to a boil, and then serve.
Like I said - damned fine eating.
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