Beef Chilli
Chuck cut by hand instead of minced, dried chillies instead of powder, and three hours where you do nothing at all.
- Prep
- 30m
- Cook
- 3h
- Total
- 3h 30m
- Serves
- 6
- Effort
- Moderate
Method
| 1.2 kg | 1 Brown hard in batches, then set aside 20m Crowd the pan and it steams. Two batches minimum, three if the pot is small. | 5 Return everything to the pot and bring to a bare simmer 10m | 6 Braise at 150°C / 300°F, lid ajar, until the beef shreds 3h Check at two hours. It is done when a spoon pulls the meat apart with no resistance. | ||
| 2 tsp | |||||
| 2 tbsp | |||||
| 4 | 2 Toast, then soak in hot water 20 minutes 25m Toast until they smell like raisins, not until they smoke. | 3 Blend to a smooth paste 5m | |||
| 2 | |||||
| 5 cloves | |||||
| 1 tbsp | |||||
| 1 tsp | |||||
| 2 | 4 Soften in the beef fat, scraping the fond 10m | ||||
| 2 tbsp | |||||
| 2 cups | |||||
| 1 tin | |||||
| 15 g | |||||
| 1 tbsp | |||||
| to taste | |||||
- 1
Brown hard in batches, then set aside
20m- beef chuck 1.2 kg
- salt 2 tsp
- neutral oil 2 tbsp
Crowd the pan and it steams. Two batches minimum, three if the pot is small.
- 2
Toast, then soak in hot water 20 minutes
25m- dried ancho chillies 4
- dried guajillo chillies 2
Toast until they smell like raisins, not until they smoke.
- 3
Blend to a smooth paste
5m- from 2 Toast, then soak in hot water 20 minutes
- garlic 5 cloves
- ground cumin 1 tbsp
- dried oregano 1 tsp
- 4
Soften in the beef fat, scraping the fond
10m- onions 2
- tomato purée 2 tbsp
- 5
Return everything to the pot and bring to a bare simmer
10m- from 1 Brown hard in batches, then set aside
- from 3 Blend to a smooth paste
- from 4 Soften in the beef fat, scraping the fond
- beef stock 2 cups
- tinned tomatoes 1 tin
- dark chocolate (optional) 15 g
- 6
Braise at 150°C / 300°F, lid ajar, until the beef shreds
3h- from 5 Return everything to the pot and bring to a bare simmer
- lime juice 1 tbsp
- salt to taste
Check at two hours. It is done when a spoon pulls the meat apart with no resistance.
Cubes, not mince
Minced beef has enormous surface area and very short fibres; braise it for three hours and it goes grainy. Chuck cut into 2 cm cubes has enough connective tissue to convert to gelatin over a long cook, and that gelatin is what gives the finished chilli its body. If you want a smoother texture, crush some of the cubes against the side of the pot at the end.
Whole dried chillies are the whole point
Chilli powder is ground chillies plus, usually, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and salt — and it has been oxidising on a shelf since some point you cannot determine. Whole dried chillies toasted for a minute and rehydrated give you fruit, raisin and tobacco notes that powder simply does not have. Anchos are mild and sweet; guajillos bring sharper heat and colour. Two chillies’ worth of adjustment either way is a matter of taste, not correctness.
The lid ajar
A sealed pot means nothing evaporates, and you finish with meat suspended in thin liquid. Leaving the lid slightly off lets the sauce reduce while the braise happens, so the two finish together. If it looks dry at the two-hour mark, add stock; if it looks thin at the three-hour mark, finish it on the hob.
Notes
- It is better on day two and excellent on day three. Make it in advance on purpose.
- Freezes perfectly in portions for three months.
- Acid at the end is not optional. Three hours of braising flattens everything; a tablespoon of lime juice puts the edges back.