When the cold chill comes rolling in – forecasted snow for the first time this winter.. what better way to ring in the season than with a chili. While we’ve had some awesome chili posts on here before – MrsForensicBBQ’s vegan chili.. my Chili Inferno – what I haven’t done is a Texas Chili. I’m not going to say it’ll be a classic bowl of red, but I’ll say this is a meaty bastard. Buckle up, we’re going hard.
I know what makes a Texas Chili proper is no beans. I got it. I’ll say I enjoy a bean in my chili bowl. I think it’s the way to go, but I’m happy to be convinced otherwise. Will this do it?
The Prep Table
The Mrs and I went cleaning out the pantry, and I had three cans of diced tomatoes to use up. When you get a sign from the heavens like this, you run with it. I pulled out a pound of Force of Nature’s Ground Wild Boar from the freezer and thawed her out. Then I thought let’s do some steak bites in there and really meaty-fy this chili. These kabob meat nuggets would do the job just fine. Lastly, glad to see Swanson was getting into the spicy game, so I’ll happily support their good decision and buy their Spicy Beef Broth.
So the game plan is to smoke the meat until it’s a good rare, maybe just to medium rare. We’re going to do this all on the RecTeq, on a 30 degree November night. The pellet grill won’t be happy with me, but she’s a beast and will pull through. We diced up a spanish onion (by far the most onionest onion I’ve ever onioned. My tears were streaming down as I was cutting it and my face even hurt. Epic.) and then a 8-10 habaneros and 3-4 jalapenos.
I did my best with the photography, but the clock set back this time of year interferes with my post-work cooks. We’ll get through it.
I didn’t need to go heavy on this seasoning, because we’re coming in hard with the chili blend. But seeing it all naked-like on the cutting board seemed like a BBQ faux pas – so that needed remedied. Anyway, skewered ’em up for ease of handling then let it roll at 225F until about 130F.
The Process
Pulled off them beef nuggets and did a thin slice. I could’ve done a really small, thin strips – but y’all in Texas “do it bigger” or something – so we’re doing some big cuts. Nothing obnoxious, but we want it noticeably a steak chili.
Got the dutch oven heated up at about 350F on the RecTeq (the frequent stirs and additions never kept it that high, but we manage) and put a saute on the onions. After about 5-10min, those onions are soft and translucent, I added the pepper blend. Then the garlic. Once those all got combined and married, I added the steak.
I pushed the veggie mix to the sides of the bowl and added the steak slowly to the middle. Each hit the surface hard, put a little more cook on the meat, and then mixed it all together. Once I was happy with that, did the same thing, pushed to the side and added the boar.
Similarly, I didn’t completely break up the ground beef, I left it thick. You’re gonna know you got a meaty bite. Once that boar got cooked, it’s time to really make it some chili.
My chili seasoning blend for this one was ancho and guajillo pepper powder, cumin, salt, paprika and some brown sugar. Threw it all on there, mixed it, and then came in with the tomatoes and beef broth. Put the lid on her, kept it around 250-300F and simmered down. Wanted it to reduce and then it was time for some eatins.
The Result
This one has some serious spice (shocker). Everything burnt, and I loved every minute of it. Now, we’re planning a 4N6BBQ Presents post this weekend. In addition to the typical chicken wing fare, I’ll be bringing this leftover chili. I’m typing this after I’ve had my second bowl, and this may be the hottest thing we try on Sunday.
Texas – your bean-less chili was good.. but I’m going to say I prefer the beans. Leave a comment, let me know – beans or no beans?