Note: All amounts are approximate. This recipe is just a pattern to follow, so suit your own taste.
2 lb stewing beef (round) chunks 4 15oz cans dark red kidney beans 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes with roasted garlic flavor 1 medium onion 1 bulb garlic 1 small bunch cilantro 1 small bunch parsley (optional) 1 small bunch oregano (optional) 6 to 8 medium-sized serrano peppers 1/3 cup red wine 1 T red wine vinegar 1 T white vinegar 1 T Worcestershire sauce 2 dried bay leaves 2 t sea salt ground black pepper, to taste olive oil 1 T chili powder (optional)
Peel and rough-dice the onion
Separate garlic bulb into cloves. Peel and mince cloves.
Saute onion and garlic together in olive oil until the onion begins to look transparent. Drain and set aside. Leave oil in pan for next step.
Cut the beef chunks in half. Brown in saute pan, adding olive oil if needed. Drain and set aside.
Deglaze saute pan with red wine and reserve the liquid.
Drain kidney beans. Reserve the liquid.
Rough-chop cilantro (and parsley and oregano, if you use them)
Remove the skin from the peppers (I use a blowtorch for this.) and slice into 1/4 inch rounds
Combine all ingredients, except kidney bean liquid, into a 1-gallon crock pot. It should be filled nearly to the top.
Add enough of the reserved kidney bean liquid to moisten as needed.
Cook on crock pot "high" setting for 2-4 hours. Then turn to low and let it sit for 24 hours total cooking time. When it is done the beans will be tender, the meat will look shredded, and the sauce will have thickened.
This chili can be frozen in 2-3 cup servings, to be reheated with a microwave or in a double boiler.
Serving suggestion: Grate Monterrey Jack cheese on top of chili in a bowl. Use tortilla chips to scoop it up. Wash it down with a hearty home-brew ale.
Copyright © 2003, Glen F. Marshall