Chili con carne (Spanish for chili with meat) is a stew composed of meat and chili pepper. The dish is originally from the border region between Mexico and the United States. As far as documented, the chili dish was first eaten by the United States military, sometime in the 19th century in Texas. The San Antonio Chili Stand, in operation at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, helped popularize chili by giving many Americans their first taste of it. San Antonio was a tourist destination and helped Texas-style chili con carne spread throughout the South and West.
Preperation: 45 minutes
Quantity: 4 persons
Ingredients:
4 thick slices of bacon
1 kilo of simmer steak
1 medium white onion
3 garlic cloves
2 whole jalapeño chili peppers
2 tablespoons of red chili powder
1 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
1 tablespoon of ground cumin powder
2 teaspoons of ground oregano
1 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
6 tomatoes
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed
Grated cheese
Salt
Preperation:
In a bowl, mix; 2 tablespoons red chili powder, 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds and 4 tablespoons water. Mix it well so that it forms a kind of paste.
Bake the bacon until crispy and set aside on a kitchen towel. Once cooled, crumble it up. Save the bacon fat.
Brown the meat. Add some of the bacon fat, and fry the meat until it turns brown. Add salt to taste. When it’s done, set the meat aside,
Add the onions with the rest of the bacon fat and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeno, cook for 1 minute longer, and add the chili paste.
Take a large pan. Add all ingredients except the corn starch and kidney beans. Break the whole tomatoes with your hands while putting them in the pan. Cook on a high setting until it starts to boil, then return to a low setting. Cover the pan and let it cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lid add kidney beans and let it cook for half an hour at a slightly higher setting,
Optionally add a tablespoon of corn starch to thicken the whole. Taste your chili, does it need more sugar to find a balance? Now you can also add extra spiciness.
Spoon it up and sprinkle the plates with cheese and onion. Serve the dish with corn bread, tortilla chips or rice.
Enjoy your meal!
The book below is highly recommended for more Mexican recipes.
Instructional video of this recipe on youtube: