Today, we are celebrating the chile pepper and I am sharing two spicy soupbowl recipes that will be perfect when the weather gets cold & rainy. These are perfect recipes if you are a "make-ahead-for-the week" or freezer stocker kind of person. You can do these in crockpots, pressure cookers or on the stovetop; whatever is easier for you.
frank x. tolbert "bowl of red" Texas Chili
3 pounds lean beef (thick chili ground style is best)
1/3 cup finely chopped garlic
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/8 pound rendered beef kidney suet (if you want to go for it) or 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon each mexican oregano, cumin powder, salt, and Tabasco sauce
dash cayenne
1 tbsp hungarian paprika
3 tablespoons chile powder
4 hot chile peppers
1 to 2 cups beef stock or water
2 teaspoons masa harina, cornmeal, or flour
-Sear beef in a large soup pot or cast-iron Dutch oven. You may need a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. When the meat is all gray, add suet and chile peppers and about two inches of liquid (you can use water, broth, or beer). Simmer for 30 minutes.
-Add spices and garlic, bring just to boil; lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes. NOTE: Add more liquid only to keep the mix from burning. Skim off as much grease as you can, then add a slurry made with masa harina and a little water. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust spices if necessary.
-If you want a less spicy chili, leave out some of the spicy stuff in the beginning. After it is made, refrigerate the chili overnight which allows the chili to mellow and you can skim off all the grease before serving.
[I modified the above from the original recipe I found here to include more of what I found in the version of the recipe that uses whole chile instead of powdered from the website of the annual Terilingua Chili Festival in the West Texas desert. Now I'll admit to my sin of adding kidney beans to the chili in the pot pictured above (this is sacrilege in Texas Chili circles), which makes the photographed version of this recipe technically "chili beans" instead of straight up, Texas Chili™ lol. I also used smoked brisket instead of the super lean ground beef & honestly I remember having this dish at Tolbert's Chili Parlor (now closed, formerly in West End downtown) and really felt during this new tasting that a chili-ground lean beef from the butcher would have been way better option giving it more of that original melt in your mouth texture I remember from eating the original recipe decades ago. Tolbert wrote the "bible" on Texas chili & you can get a copy on amazon.]
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Soup/TolbertChili.htm
http://www.abowlofred.com/FXTChili.htm
Verde Chicken Green Chile Stew
1 whole chicken (around 4 pounds)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 (4 ounce) can canned green chile peppers, chopped
4 hot habanero peppers, de-seeded and minced (or use jalapenos for medium heat. or anaheim/serrano for a mild, less spicy chili. if you can grill or roast your peppers whole first, that is even better)
1 onion, chopped (i just used 1/2 for a mild chili)
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 carrots, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (optional)
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
chicken broth (or water)
salt and pepper to taste
- Put the chicken in a large pot over medium heat and add water to cover. Add the cumin, thyme, marjoram and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 2 1/2 hours (or pressure cook for 45 minutes). Remove the chicken from the pot and allow it to cool. Discard the bones and the skin (or use to make homemade broth) and chop the chicken meat into bite-size pieces.
- Return the chicken meat to the stew pot and add the green chile peppers, spicy fresh peppers, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, tomatoes and potatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender (or pressure cook for 10 minutes). In a separate small bowl, mix the flour with some water (or chicken broth) and add to the soup, stirring well so the flour does not clump. Raise heat, bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Recipe above was modified by me to include less spicy version, plus mine adds broth instead of just water to make the stew. The original version by Georgette hails from New Mexico & can be found at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/green-chile-chicken-stew/
you can find a great VEGETARIAN chili recipes elsewhere in my blog >here<
3 pounds lean beef (thick chili ground style is best)
1/3 cup finely chopped garlic
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/8 pound rendered beef kidney suet (if you want to go for it) or 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon each mexican oregano, cumin powder, salt, and Tabasco sauce
dash cayenne
1 tbsp hungarian paprika
3 tablespoons chile powder
4 hot chile peppers
1 to 2 cups beef stock or water
2 teaspoons masa harina, cornmeal, or flour
-Sear beef in a large soup pot or cast-iron Dutch oven. You may need a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. When the meat is all gray, add suet and chile peppers and about two inches of liquid (you can use water, broth, or beer). Simmer for 30 minutes.
-Add spices and garlic, bring just to boil; lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes. NOTE: Add more liquid only to keep the mix from burning. Skim off as much grease as you can, then add a slurry made with masa harina and a little water. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust spices if necessary.
-If you want a less spicy chili, leave out some of the spicy stuff in the beginning. After it is made, refrigerate the chili overnight which allows the chili to mellow and you can skim off all the grease before serving.
[I modified the above from the original recipe I found here to include more of what I found in the version of the recipe that uses whole chile instead of powdered from the website of the annual Terilingua Chili Festival in the West Texas desert. Now I'll admit to my sin of adding kidney beans to the chili in the pot pictured above (this is sacrilege in Texas Chili circles), which makes the photographed version of this recipe technically "chili beans" instead of straight up, Texas Chili™ lol. I also used smoked brisket instead of the super lean ground beef & honestly I remember having this dish at Tolbert's Chili Parlor (now closed, formerly in West End downtown) and really felt during this new tasting that a chili-ground lean beef from the butcher would have been way better option giving it more of that original melt in your mouth texture I remember from eating the original recipe decades ago. Tolbert wrote the "bible" on Texas chili & you can get a copy on amazon.]
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Soup/TolbertChili.htm
http://www.abowlofred.com/FXTChili.htm
Verde Chicken Green Chile Stew
1 whole chicken (around 4 pounds)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 (4 ounce) can canned green chile peppers, chopped
4 hot habanero peppers, de-seeded and minced (or use jalapenos for medium heat. or anaheim/serrano for a mild, less spicy chili. if you can grill or roast your peppers whole first, that is even better)
1 onion, chopped (i just used 1/2 for a mild chili)
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 carrots, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (optional)
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
chicken broth (or water)
salt and pepper to taste
- Put the chicken in a large pot over medium heat and add water to cover. Add the cumin, thyme, marjoram and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 2 1/2 hours (or pressure cook for 45 minutes). Remove the chicken from the pot and allow it to cool. Discard the bones and the skin (or use to make homemade broth) and chop the chicken meat into bite-size pieces.
- Return the chicken meat to the stew pot and add the green chile peppers, spicy fresh peppers, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, tomatoes and potatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender (or pressure cook for 10 minutes). In a separate small bowl, mix the flour with some water (or chicken broth) and add to the soup, stirring well so the flour does not clump. Raise heat, bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Recipe above was modified by me to include less spicy version, plus mine adds broth instead of just water to make the stew. The original version by Georgette hails from New Mexico & can be found at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/green-chile-chicken-stew/
you can find a great VEGETARIAN chili recipes elsewhere in my blog >here<