Sometimes things are a long time coming.
Say, how ‘bout this here chili?
Well, we’ve been planning for it for quite sometime.
And when I tells you just how long you might just fall out of your dang chair: since August of last year.
Yes, as in 2013.
As in 5 months.
Five.whole. months.
It’s five long, nagging months of dried chile pepper packs falling out of the cabinet, onto my head then to the floor.
The chiles have done some traveling, too.
From the top, to the bottom, back to the top + finally landing on the middle shelf of the cabinet.
Before this…
What else besides our first ever named cold front could drive this chili to fruition?
Answer: nothing.
It took a windy arctic blast of bone-chilling, potentially ass-chaffing thermals to get my lazy self up on the kitchen stool into the abyss of the middle shelf in search of the long lost peppers.
They were buried so deep under what may be now considered esoteric must-have inspirational foodstuffs that I was beginning to wonder if I had dreamed it all up in the first place.
Thankfully for both you + I–there they were.
There, in all their potential slow burning glory, propped up next to the cans of PET evaporated milk, condensed sweetened milk + behind the 3 jars of honey, each from a different farm.
I gave myself a challenge: one week.
And it was a week: hardcore chili history research, endless recipe tests and tongue burning tastings (what can I say? I got excited) to get it right.
And now, now I am sharing it with you.
It took every bone in my body to not let the cat out of bag on this one.
I mean, we’re serving it with jalapeño + (extra-sharp) cheddar hushpuppies for crying out aloud.
Just follow this-a-way…
I also ain’t gonna lie, there’s a bit of elbow grease on this one too.
Listen, it’s chili.
We all know its going to take some effort to begin with so why not do it right from the start?
No canned beans, preferably there would have been only tomatoes I had canned but alas it wasn’t the case.
You do what you can where you can and I aint gonna judge if you used canned beans.
But.
But I will tell you this, they might not hold up every well as the chili takes hmm, a few, read: five hours to get to the point of blow your doors off delicious.
Just a word to the wise.
There is a method to what some would consider a lengthy madness.
Don’t worry though as we broke out the recipe by method, planning step by step so as not to seem so damn overwhelming.
Game plan, people.
Game plan on this crazy unpredictable thing called Winter.
Black Bean Pork + Lamb Chili
Ingredients
For the beans:
1 + ¾ cups black beans, rinsed and soaked overnight.
1 bay leaf
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt
METHOD:
Don’t forget to soak the beans overnight.
(Lord knows, I am terrible at remembering to do this.)
Next morning drain the beans.
Add soaked beans to a medium stockpot.
Cover with water by a two inches, add in the bay + spice.
Bring beans to a boil, once they start to boil, cover.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.
Be sure to stir occasionally and skim off any foam.
They should be tender but not falling apart.
Drain cooked beans while reserving the liquid.
Set aside.
While the beans are cooking get started on the chili:
Chili Ingredients
6 dried ancho chiles
6 dried new mexico red chiles
4 dried chili de arbol
2 dried chipotle chiles
2 dried corne de chevre chiles
1 tsp bacon grease
¾ cup red wine
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground lamb
1 cup coffee
2 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground clove
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cayenne
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
3–14 oz cans, diced, no salt added tomatoes, juices reserved
2 ½ tbsp chili con carne powder
¼ cup red wine
salt to taste
sugar to taste
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 oz dark chocolate, grated
extra sharp cheddar, grated
green onions, chopped
Starting with the chiles:
remove the stems, don’t worry about the seeds.
Grease y'alls cast iron skillet + over medium-high heat, toss in chiles, stirring frequently until just soft.
Remove from heat. Pour in 1 cup water and cover with lid. Allow chiles to soak for 30 mins.
(And if y'all planned it right the chiles + beans should be done at the same time.)
While the chiles are doing their thing, in a separate small sauté pan cook onions + garlic until soft.
Set aside.
Now grab y'alls ground pork + lamb.
Please do season with salt + pepper here, about a tsp of each should do the trick. Break out that 8 quart stock pot, another 1 tsp of bacon grease and cook about 4 to 6 mins or until no longer pink.
Add the onions + garlic to the meat, stir well to combine.
Add coffee, beef broth, water, and all the spices up to and including the garlic powder.
Stir well to combine and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 mins.
Your chiles are probably ready by now.
(Beans are probably too, just shut the heat off those.
You can drain + reserve the cooking liquid after the chile situation.)
Drain the water from the chiles.
Break out the food processor and add all the chiles + ¾ cup red wine.
Frappe for a good 3 to 5 minutes or until a smooth paste forms.
Add chile paste to slowly simmering meat mixture mixing till well combined.
Cook for 30 mins adding about ½ cup of reserved tomato juice to keep chili moist.
Then add in tomatoes, chili con carne seasoning, ¼ cup red wine, salt + sugar to taste.
Let simmer for another 30 minutes.
Be sure to keep adding any reserved tomato juice to keep the chili moist and once your out of tomato juice start with the reserved bean juice.
Now add in the black beans.
Don’t forget to keep adding reserved tomato/black bean juices, about ½ cup at time for the next 3 hours so.
The chili has many different stages of flavors and it is best to just let it ride because in 30 mins it’s gonna take on a whole new persona.
I watched the chili like a hawk, stirring + adding liquid every 15 mins.
I also added sugar + white vinegar in ½ tsp increments because it amplified the tomato-ness of the chili that others (myself included) look for when declaring a chili worthy or not.
Add + taste test according to yalls own preferences.
About 30 mins before serving do add the red wine + grated dark chocolate.
Garnish with cheddar + green onions.
It brings it all together, deepening both the smoke + heat.
Creating the low + slow burn.
We ain’t talking about the heartburn type either.
We’re talking about the warm you up from the inside out kind.
Take that, first ever named cold front/winter.
Could someone pass the hushpuppies, please?