E *****
Approx 1 hour prep time. 2 to 24 hours cooking time. Please note that it
won't fit in a 5 quart crock pot without letting it reduce (boil down)
overnight. If you buy the Shredded Beef, make sure you let it cook at
least 3 hours -- 6 or 12 hours is even better. (I start it the day
before and let it cook all night.)
This recipe is courtesy of Mike "Brutus" Dratch, former Chili Director at
Electro-Sport. I have been tinkering with it ever since 1987...
Brown these three ingredients with a little oil in a pan or two. 4-6 lbs
Chuck roast. Chop it up into little bite-size pieces. I am
now a firm believer in buying the "Shredded Beef" at your
supermarker butcher counter. (Cook as long as possible, like
6 hours or more.) Another alternative is to ask for the
coarse "chili" grind; not all butcher counters will be able
to do this. 1 TB or more Garlic powder. Or a dozen or so
cloves of fresh garlic. I usually just shake in more
garlic powder (or fresh garlic from a jar) each time I
put more meat in the pan. 1 Medium onion, dice into small
pieces. I've been using red onions lately.
Drain off the fat, then mix EVERYTHING in your pot: 16 oz can
of stewed tomatoes. (A 14.5 oz can will do.) Last time
around I used an 8 oz can of Mexican-style and an 8 oz can of
Italian-style. 2-3 cup beef broth. We used 2 cans of
Campbell's, but you could use boullion. 1 pkg
brown gravy mix 4 TB Cajun Seasoning. (Recipe originally
called for 1 oz California or New Mexico chili powder;
New Mexico chili powder will make the chili very spicy
hot.) 2 TB ground Cumin. You'll find cumin and chili powder in
the Mexican section, it's often cheaper that way. 1 TB
Oregano or Italian Spices. 1 tsp black pepper 1 TB
Paprika. This is mostly for color. 1 beer Any kind. I
used Coors "Cutter" most recently. 1 TB brown sugar 7 oz
can diced green chilis. This is the larger of Ortega's two
can sizes. 1 tsp dry mustard 6-10 yellow
chili peppers. They come in a bottle. Cut off the stems,
squeeze out most of the seeds, dice them up and throw
them in. I used 8 last time around. 1 TB vinegar. We used the
vinegar from the chili pepper bottle (above). 1
juice of a lime. Recipe originally called for 1 TB lime or
lemon juice.
Cook all this for at least two hours over a low fire.
If it's not thick enough, thicken it with flour or cornstarch (we used
flour); if needs to be thinned, add water or beer.
The yellow chili peppers are optional. Obviously, all of these ingredients
can be varied to taste. Brutus suggests getting a bottle of hot sauce,
such as Tapatio or Louisiana Hot Sauce for those who like it a little
spicy. (We got Red Devil La. Hot Sauce, but I didn't use it myself.) Also
diced onions and/or shredded cheese on top is good. (I put some cheddar
on top every time.)
Brute Force Chili can trace its origin back to a chili cook-off winner
printed in a newspaper long ago. The current evolution is a guaranteed
crowd-pleaser, and can be made as hot & spicy as you like it. "As is"
it's a good tasty chili, made for rolling up in tortillas with lots of
cheese and whatever else you like to eat your chili with. It should cook
for at least 3 hours, 6 hours or overnight if you can spare the time. The
longer it cooks, the more tender it gets, however you may get tired of the
smell after a day of cooking it. When it's been cooking long enough, the
meat gets so tender the chunks are literally falling apart. It's good,
though.
"Chili" Baden, Institute for Chili Studies, Box 1792, Redondo Beach CA
90278
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