I’ve been using my “Beef Chili for a Crowd” recipe for as long as I can remember. It’s flavorful, a bit spicy and feeds an army. I never saw a reason to use a different recipe until I judged a chili competition when this elderly gentleman made the absolutely best Texas-style chili I’ve ever had. For those not familiar with Texas-style chili – it contains no beans (blasphemy) and it typically featured hand-chopped beef instead of the common ground beef style that’s so popular here in the northeast.

This chili is hearty, rich, and earthy with just the right level of spice. I won’t lie – cubing the beef into small pieces pretty much sucks, but the final product is so worth it.

While many grocery stores now carry dried chiles, I visited my local Mexican grocer to find the requisite guajillo chiles.

I know it’s a multi-step recipe, but it freezes beautifully for a month, so make it, have a bowl and freeze the rest!   

I serve this chili with tortilla chips for dipping, guacamole, cheddar and sour cream. Use whatever garnishes you enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 8 dried chiles, either New Mexico or guajillo
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
• 2 – 2½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into ½-inch cubes
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup dark beer
• 3 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• Sour cream, for garnish (optional)
• Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated, for garnish (optional)
• Diced avocado, for garnish (optional)
• Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lay out dried chiles on a baking sheet lined with foil and roast in the oven for 8 minutes, until fragrant. Add the roasted chiles to a bowl, cover them with hot water and allow to soak for 30 minutes. I use a bowl to weight down the chiles in the water – SEE IMAGE OF THIS TRICK.
3. Drain the chiles (reserve the soaking water), cut off stems, remove seeds and roughly chop them. Add the chopped chiles to a blender along with the cumin, the salt, the pepper, 1/2 cup of the reserved chile soaking liquid and blend until the mixture is very smooth, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
4. Place a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season beef cubes with big pinches of salt and pepper. Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and brown beef in 2 batches until browned on all sides, 8-10 minutes per batch. Remove beef and set aside.
5. Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining 3 tablespoons vegetable oil to the pot and add onions – cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
6. Add the beef stock, 1 cup of the reserved chile soaking liquid and the beer to the onions and garlic and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the beef back to pot with any cooking juices along with the pureed chile paste and the cornmeal. Turn the heat to low and simmer the chili, covered, for 90 minutes. Uncover the chili and cook for 15 more minutes.
7. Add the vinegar and the brown sugar to the pot, remove from heat, and let sit for 30 minutes for the chili to thicken. The chili can be made a day ahead of serving, up until this point. Simply cool, cover and refrigerate.
8. When ready to eat, gently reheat chili over low heat, adding more beef stock if the chili is too thick. Give a final seasoning of salt or pepper, if needed.
9. Serve chili with any/all preferred garnishes.

Yields 4 hearty portions.

Adapted from this recipe.