Cold weather Texas Smoked Brisket Chili recipe

This is thick, rich TEXAS chili, none of this beans shite served elsewhere, Of course, if you're one "those people" who want beans in their chili. add beans. (Not really, don't. Why ruin a great chili?)

You can use either a smoked brisket flat, beef short ribs or smoked chuck roast. Sirloin is good, too, if you have it, but I wouldn't use it, myself. You only need about three pounds of smoked brisket. Before smoking, trim well. If you need help smoking a brisket, that's another topic. Don't smoke the brisket to completion as you normally would. Smoke it long enough to develop a good char on the surface, maybe 2.5-3 hours at 275 degrees. You need about 3 to 3.5 pounds of cubed brisket, cut into 1" cubes (or so).

If you prefer to not smoke, get you a nice couple 3# to 4# chuck roasts and dice into 1" cubes after removing fat and gristle and I'll add more directions below.

Here's the ingredients you need:

4 Dried chilis - 2 guajillo chilis plus either 1 ancho chili and 1 pasilla chili, or 2 of either. These are usually sold in packets sometimes near the vegetables, sometimes in their own special spice area, or sometimes with the Hispanic food items.
3-cups beef broth
1 cup of red wine
1 cup of coffee
1 bar Nestles chocolate
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon paprika (I use smoked paprika)
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 thick slices of bacon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes
2 chipotles and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (you get this from 1 can of Chipotle Peppers in adobo sauce)
3 tablespoons of Masa Harina (the corn flour used to make tortillas, tamales and corn chips)
Salt and pepper for seasoning and (to taste)
Red pepper flakes for desired heat (to taste
Garlic and Onion powder (to taste)
Sugar (to taste. Sugar is not necessary, but some people like it in their chili)
Additional Worcestershire to taste (likely not needed)


Texas Chili Toppings Suggestions

Corn Chips, like Fritos
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
White Onions, minced
Jalapenos, sliced
Sour Cream
Cilantro, chopped
Chalula hot sauce (but you won't need it)

Select the dried chilis you’ll be using, and remove the stems and seeds. The peppers should not be dry and brittle, but still flexible. Cut into 1" pieces. Using a hot dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, toast the chilis for 2-4 minutes. Do not use any oil. Add the beef broth and coffee, bring to a boil and simmer to soften the chilis for about 15 minutes. Add the red wine, stir and cover. Let sit for 10 minutes

While the chilis are simmering, measure out the dried spices and mix together in a small bowl. Now cut up the onions and garlic. Set aside. If you are not using cubed smoked brisket, take your cubed beef and season with salt and pepper, using about 3/4 teaspoon of salt per pound and about three teaspoons of freshly cracked/ course ground pepper. Set these ingredients aside.

Puree the beef/wine/coffee stock with the chilis in a blender or food processor.

Cut the bacon into small, like half-inch pieces and cook these in the dutch oven, rendering the fat and crisping the bacon. Remove the bacon pieces and set aside leaving the liquid fat in the pot.

**IF YOU ARE NOT USING SMOKED BRISKET THEN DO THIS NEXT STEP (otherwise skip this next step)

Over medium heat, cook the beef without stirring to sear. Once one side is seared, turn to sear the other. Work in small batches so the pieces are not crowded - if the beef is crowded together, or you stir it around, all it will do is just steam the meat. You won't get a good browning of the meat.

Once all of the beef is seared (or if using smoked brisket), with the heat still on medium, add all of the bacon pieces and beef to the pot. Add the dried spices and pureed liquid and cook for about 5 minutes.

From out of a can or jar of Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, add 2 chipotle peppers and 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce. Now add the onions and garlic, cooking to soften, which takes about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir. Now add the Worcestershire sauce, the diced tomatoes and 2 cups of water and stir. Wait until this is starting to get hot, but not yet boiling and then add the Masa Harina and the chocolate bar and stir.

Simmer for 2 - 3 hours until the meat is tender and the chili get to be a nice thick richness. Taste and adjust the spices to your level of spice intensity. Dried peppers can vary in spiciness, but you’ll be able to kick it up even more if it's not as warm as you like. For a direct hit of heat, try using Paul Prudhomme’s Chipotle Chili Pepper - it can be really intense and it is easy to overdue it, so start with slowly adding maybe a quarter teaspoon, then wait and come back to taste after ten minutes of cooking. If it needs to come up some more, add an eighth teaspoon at a time and build up to your heat tolerance.

As mentioned above: use garlic powder, salt (I cook with Kosher), pepper, sugar and additional Worcestershire as needed and to your taste. I usually add a little salt, rarely add black pepper, add maybe a tablesp;oon of sugar just to give it a hint (the chocolate bar will already add a touch of sweetness, so be a good judge before adding too much sugar, which I don't find appealing and you probably wouldn't, either.

To serve, I usually add Fritos corn chips, cheddar cheese and any additional toppings of your choice. I like to add sour cream on top, because I like it spicy and the sour cream helps tame the heat a little. If not hot enough, throw some Chalula on top of the sour cream and top with some chopped Cilantro and Jalepeno.

You can thin down the chili if you like, but it is supposed to be thick and rich, not a soup.