Reno Red Chili
- Ready In:
- 1hr 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
12-15
ingredients
- 5 5 lbs ground round or 5 lbs ground beef brisket (ask the butcher for "chili grind")
- 1⁄4 cup Wesson Oil or 1/4 cup rendered kidney suet
- 2 medium onions
- 5 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 8 tablespoons commercial chili powder (Make sure you get chili powder, not a chili mix or ground chili pepper!)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons msg (optional)
- 5 -15 chili pods, depending on heat level desired (if pods are not available, use cayenne pepper to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
directions
- Remove stems, membrane and seeds from chili pods, cover with water and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove pods and blend into paste.
- Reserve the chili water.
- Chop onions.
- Crack cumin with rolling pin or grind with mortar and pestle.
- Brew 1 teaspoon oregano leaves in 1 cup of water.
- Brown meat in several batches, add black pepper while browning.
- Brown onions with meat then remove with slotted spoon and reserve.
- Combine browned meat and onion with the following: cumin, 8 heaping tablespoons of commercial chili powder, 3 cloves garlic (pressed) and MSG.
- Cook ten minutes, using just enough pepper water to keep from burning.
- Stir constantly.
- This cooks the spices into the meat.
- Add chili paste and half of oregano water.
- Cook slowly, adding pepper water as necessary to prevent scorching.
- Add additional oregano to taste, salt to taste.
- The meat should be tender in around 1-1/2 hours.
-
Cooking Variations:
- Add 1 to 2 cans 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce.
- Hand cut meat to about the size of a navy bean.
- (A lot of contestants now use half chili grind and half hand cut).
- Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar 10 minutes before serving.
- Use white pepper instead of black pepper.
- Use masa/corn flour (not cornstarch) to thicken (mix flour with cold water and whisk until smooth, then pour into hot chili while stirring constantly until thickened).
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Reviews
-
Made this several times. Never been able to figure out what to do with the kidney suet/oil. Doesn’t need it. The hand cut meat variation is super good from a texture standpont. My teen son eats it with warm tortillas. Excellent over rice. Or just eat it the way it’s supposed to be eaten, with a spoon. Make a batch for your next potluck, but serve it in dixie cups if you don’t live somewhere that spicy food is common.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Molly53
United States