Slow Cooked Texas-Style Chili

I’m going to derive from my original plan to post about Thai food today. Sorry if you were looking forward to it, but I couldn’t help myself. I’m excited and inspired to write about the Texas-style chili I made over the weekend.

Why is it so exciting? Because this is one of my blogging “firsts.” This is the first time that a reader has asked me to post a specific recipe!

Over the weekend I posted a tweet about the chili:

Texas-style chili in the slowcooker for #dinner it seems wrong to have planned comfort food on a beautiful day! #sunny #warm #SundaySupper

One of my Twitter followers responded asking for the recipe!

I served this chili to a group of friends. It went over well for the most part. Unfortunately, one friend turned it down, I didn’t realize he dislikes kidney beans. I felt bad that everyone else enjoyed the chili and he resorted to snacks for dinner. I’ll remember next time. And hopefully I’ll learn to ask about people’s likes/dislikes before showing up with food.

My Texas-Style Chili recipe is constantly changing. It’s adapted from my parent’s recipe and reading a bunch of Southwest-inspired cookbooks.

I’ve divided this recipe into indicate the usual and optional ingredients. I’m including approximate pricing for the items I included in the chili I prepared this weekend.

I hope you enjoy it!

Slow Cooked Texas-Style Chili

Ingredients

• 1 pound of lean ground beef – approximate cost $4.00
• 3 cups of dried, mixed beans (at least 2/3 of which are generally red kidney beans with a mixture of garbanzo, white kidney/cannellini, navy, and fava beans) – approximate cost $3.00
  • Alternately, if you can use canned beans (2 cans of red kidney beans and 1 can of bean medley)
• 1 bottle of beer (alcoholic or non-alcoholic, I used a honey brown this time) – approximate cost $1.50
• 1 can of diced tomatoes – approximate cost $1.00
• 1 can of tomato paste – approximate cost $0.75
• 4 garlic cloves, minced – approximate cost $0.25
• 4 tablespoons of chili powder – approximate cost $0.15
• 1 tablespoon of cumin – approximate cost $0.10
• 1 tablespoon of salt (or to taste) – approximate cost $0.05
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil – approximate cost $0.05
• 1 1/2 cups of water

Optional ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro – approximate cost $0.10
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 3/4 cup of frozen corn (or 1 can)
• 3/4 cup of frozen green beans (or 1 can)

Optional toppings and sides

• 2 cups of shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, and/or colby)
• Toast (for serving)

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add mixture of dried beans, turn the stove off, put a lid on the pot, and let the beans soak for at least 1 hour (skip this step if you’re using canned beans).
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
3. Sautee the minced garlic for 1 minute.
   1. If you’re adding onion, add it to the frying pan at this point and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
5. Add the chili powder and cumin, cook for about 1 minutes (or until the spices become fragrant).
6. Add the beer and bring to a boil then cook for about 5 minutes (the liquid should be about half evaporated).
7. Add the tomato paste and stir into the mixture.
8. In a large crock pot, combine the meat and spice mixture, beans, diced tomatoes (don’t drain the liquid), salt (to taste), water, and any additional ingredients.
9. Cook at low temperature for 5-6 hours (or high temperature for 3-4 hours).
10. Serve as is or with any additional sides and toppings.

Makes about 8 servings (approximate cost: $1.36 per serving + any additional ingredients).

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Posted by Amber on March 14, 2012

http://thecookssister.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/slow-cooked-texas-style-chili/