Scoresman Chili
This is a recipe I've developed over time, always experimenting with new ingredients. Below is the current favorite version of friends and family. I attempt to have a good depth of flavor with minimal, but quality ingredients.
2-3 lbs. beef chuck roast
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
cumin
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
beef stock
1 bottle of beer (I prefer something dark,
this or
this is great if you can find it)
tomato paste
a bunch of dried chili peppers, different variety
beans (optional. If you use them get some good dried beans and re-hydrate them.
These are incredible. Canned beans suck)
1 bottle quality root beer (optional)
butter
1. Prep the chili powder. De-seed your dried chili peppers and cut into small pieces. Put them into a food processor or coffee/spice grinder and grind it all into a powder. Using fresh chili powder like this makes a world of difference vs. pre-bought.
2. Mise-en-place. Chop the onion, mince the garlic, cut the beef into large cubes and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pull out 1-2 chili peppers in adobo sauce and mince it. This stuff is super spicy and is the ingredient that will determine how spicy your chili ends up. Adjust amounts to suit your tastes.
3. Brown the meat in a large pot or dutch oven with some butter on high heat This will be the pot your chili cooks in so make sure it's big enough. Make sure all or most of the sides of each cube is nice and brown, not just gray. Also, do not crowd the pan, do this in batches. Set meat aside once done.
4. Cook the onions until lightly caramelized in the same pot. It should deglaze all the nice tasty burnt bits of meat that was left in the pot. Add the garlic towards the end.
5. Add a good amount of chili powder, some cumin, and a little more salt and pepper. Mix it up with the onions and cook about a minute. Dont overdo it, we can add more seasoning later. I like to add some now to get nice and fragrant.
6. Add the meat, adobo peppers, two good tablespoons of tomato paste and mix this all up. Then add about 1-2 cups worth of beer, 1/2-1 cup root beer, and fill the rest with beef broth until the meat is just barely covered. Stir it all up nice.
7. Let everything cook uncovered at a slow simmer for a few hours. The liquid should reduce. Once the beef looks ready, pull it out and shred it with two forks. Then put it back in with beans if using them, and cook a bit longer, covered if necessary to preserve desired thickness. Also check seasoning and adjust any ingredients as desired.