Bowl of Red Chili recipe, comments and photo are courtesy of Jane Butel and her website Jane Butel Southwest Cooking.
The influence behind this chili recipe came from my maternal grandfather, who when working with the Santa Fe Railroad learned how to prepare it from the “cookies,” or trail cooks. This Bowl of Red Chili recipe has won numerous chili cook-offs and is one of the really true original chilis.
- 2 tablespoons shortening, preferably solid shortening such as lard or butter
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 medium-size garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup hot chile peppers, ground (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup mild chile peppers, ground
- 1 tablespoon cumin, ground
- About 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Cheese (of your choice), coarsely grated
- Jalapeno chile peppers, pickled
- Onions, chopped
- Sour cream
- Lime wedges
- Red chile powder
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Heat shortening, lard or butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened; remove from heat.
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Add beef cubes, garlic, ground chile peppers (hot and mild), and cumin to pot. Break up any lumps. Stir in the water and salt and return to heat. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 2-1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender and the flavors are well blended. Add more water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings.
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Serve with fixin’s ‘n mixins’ of coarsely grated cheeses, pickled jalapenos, chopped onion and sour cream with lime wedges garnished with a “ruffle” of red chile.
One Response to “Bowl of Red Chili Recipe”
Margo Haynes
Ahhh Jane! Your Grandpa’ left you a treasure in this recipe, only difference we had in our hand me down family recipe was that in place of water, we added a bit of homemade beef stock and a dark lager beer!
thanks for sharing this, it now in my collection of “go tos” for a good bowl of red! those grounds chili peppers were the icing on the cake!