Texas Meat Chili

Made from left over BBQ meat

This is a great meal, with a good kick to it. I made this chili from left-over BBQ I had after a party made from steak, pork, and ribs.

Growing up we ate chili from a can, I had no idea how many different variations of chili there is out there. Everything from ground beef, beans, chicken, even a vegetarian version.

The first time I tried a version of a thick meat chili was at a Chili contest in Georgia on base. A SSG from Texas made his version of the chili and while it came out great, I like this version the best.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs. Chuck (or left over meat: mixed  beef, pork, lamb, Andouille sausage)
• 3 dried Chile Pasilla chiles 
• 3 dried Chile Ancho chiles
• 3 dried Chipotle chiles
• ½ diced white or Spanish onion
• 1 diced green pepper
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 box beef broth
• 1 – 28 oz. crushed tomato
• 1 – 28 oz. diced tomato
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp. Westchestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. coco powder (yes you heard me)
• 2 tbsp. chili oil (optional)
• Seasoning to taste: Hungarian paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, African harissa, cumin, orange adobo, crushed pepper flakes, sea salt, Chile ancho powder, coffee rub (or fine grind coffee)
• Brown sugar (optional)
• 1 bottle Guinness beer (optional)
• 1 tbsp. Grandma’s molasses

Remove meat from bones and dice, place in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 min to warm up and roast.

Place pasilla, ancho, and chipotle on a dry rack and place in the oven for 10 min to roast. If worried about the smell, microwave in a sealed container for 2 min until the chilies are soft. De-seed and place in a blender with beef broth and ½ of the seasoning. Blend well.

In a Dutch oven use your chili oil to sauté the onions, green pepper and garlic. Add in tomato paste and mix well. 

Add in your chili paste from the blender, Westchestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar,  Guinness. Stir in meat and let simmer for 3 min. Add brown sugar, molasses, coco powder, the rest of the seasoning, and crushed and diced tomatoes. 

Let simmer till well mixed and place in pre-heated oven at 375 degree for 20 min. Skim grease from the pot, check tenderness of meat and taste for spiciness. If needed add more chili pepper and hot sauce. 

Place back in oven for  20 min. Continue to check every 15 min until meat is tender and spice levels are right.