May 17, 2020

A recipe sent to AR:

Here's how I made the chili.  The recipe can be easily halved, if desired.

In a big pot, brown 2 to 2 1/4 pounds of ground beef (I used 93% fat ground beef, but 85-15 or 80-20 would be good--perhaps better--too). There's no need to brown it in oil or anything like that (the beef will yield its own oil). I just dropped the ground beef into a cold pot and turned the heat on medium high. Once you start hearing the sound of the beef cooking, break it up with a wooden spoon and cook, stirring often, until brown--maybe 8 to 10 minutes? (Optional: If you are an experienced cook, brown it good. That is, keep cooking it after it first browns and until the excess moisture evaporates and the beef starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, then add a little water [a couple of tablespoons or so] and scrape up the brown stuff that's sticking on the bottom. Keep cooking and adding a little water and scraping and stirring until you risk burning it but without actually burning it. Adjust the heat as necessary.)

Put the browned ground beef in a big bowl and set it aside.

Cook 2 to 3 chopped onions in the same pot on medium heat until soft--maybe 4 or 5 minutes? (As the onions cook, they will release liquid, which should be used to further scrape up any browned patches or bits still sticking to the bottom of the pot.) Add 5 or 6 chopped toes of garlic to the pot and cook for about a minute, stirring often.

Remove the pot from the hot burner (e.g., put it on a cold burner). Put the browned beef back in the pot, along with two 15-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes and a stick of butter. Stir well, remembering to scrape up whatever's still stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste--maybe a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon or two of pepper to start with? (the cans of tomatoes might already have a lot of sodium, so be careful; I tend to use less salt than most people). Add chili powder to taste. You might need more chili powder than you think--perhaps a quarter cup (4 tablespoons). Add a little sugar--maybe 2 or 3 teaspoons, maybe more, if you want it sweeter--and a little ketchup (maybe a good squirt). I added a little paprika as well--maybe two or three teaspoons. Add one can of drained pinto beans (i.e., drain and rinse the beans well first before adding them to the pot).

Put the pot back on the hot burner. Once the mixture starts bubbling again (be careful: the hot mixture, because of the tomatoes, can spurt out of the pot and get all over everything, including you), turn the heat to low or medium low to keep it bubbling gently. Cover partially with a lid and cook for at least an hour--three or four would be better--stirring occasionally or as needed--maybe every 8 to 10 minutes? The trick is to keep it gently bubbling on the lowest heat possible. What you should see are bubbles continuously coming to the surface but not erupting all the time like a geyser and hitting the bottom of the lid. You should feel like you, and not the stove, are in control of things. If you don't, the heat is too high. 

Anytime you think the chili is getting too dry or thick, simply add a little water (a 1/2 cup perhaps) and stir. I probably added around two cups of water in all as I cooked it. It should be thinner than sloppy joes but not so thin as to be soupy.

Enjoy! :)