Chili Recipe

[Gandelf]

Here is my very own Chili recipe. It's based on authentic recipes from Texas (the home of Chili). "Chili con Carne" literally means "Chili with Meat". Some say that it shouldn't contain kidney beans, but some prefer beans in it. This recipe has beans. You can also add whole Chilies, but I prefer to use just Chili Powder made to my own secret recipe. I tend to make about 4-5 portions then freeze them for future consumption. Enjoy it!

CHILI RECIPE
(Approx 4-6 servings)

Ingredients
2 lbs./900g ground Beef (ideally home-ground stewing steak)
1 very large Onion (approx. 12 Oz./340g when chopped)
5 Cloves minced Garlic
2½ Oz./70g Lard (do not be tempted to use oil instead, it spoils the Chili)*
¾ Pint/400ml Beef Stock (made from a stock cube will do)
3 Tbs. Tomato Purée
5 Oz./140g dried Kidney Beans (or approx. 12 Oz./340g after soaking and pre-cooking)
3 Tbs. “Cattlemen’s” Hickory Smoke Barbecue Sauce (available from most Supermarkets). This may be omitted if you prefer.
2-3 Tbs. Hot Chili Powder
¼-½ Tsp. Salt (or to taste)

Preparation
Soak the dried Kidney Beans in cold water for about 12 hours (ideally overnight). After soaking, rinse several times, then place in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down and simmer for 40 minutes. Rinse in cold water, place in a bowl and cover with Clingfilm until required. Warning: Never eat raw Kidney Beans; always pre-cook them as instructed before use.

Method
Fry the chopped Onion in the Lard on a medium heat for several minutes, until soft and golden in colour. Add the minced Garlic and fry gently for another minute.
Add the ground Beef, turn up the heat and stir until browned thoroughly.
Add the Stock and Tomato Purée and stir.
Add the pre-cooked Kidney Beans and stir.
Add the Barbecue Sauce, Salt and Chili Powder. Stir.
Bring to the boil for 2 minutes, turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve ideally with Navajo fried bread (recipes easily found on the Internet), or with long-grain Rice. Flour Tortillas or Tacos are also an excellent accompaniment to Chili.
Traditionally, it is said that you can stand a spoon in a good Chili. Chili should be fairly "dry", i.e. there should not be too much fluid in it. Follow the recipe above and it will turn out fine.
*Lard is better because it can withstand heat better than oil. Also, oil will tend to leave a bit of an oily slick on the plate. You can also try using Bacon fat or beef dripping to enrich the flavour.

[Gandelf]

I've made an improvement to the recipe for those who are interested. If you grill some smokey bacon and use the fat off it to replace some of the Lard, you get a much better flavour.

[Arcsalin]

I've made an improvement to the recipe for those who are interested. If you grill some smokey bacon and use the fat off it to replace some of the Lard, you get a much better flavour.

Old hat, although most don't care as most people's idea of cooking is grabbing a ready meal/tv dinner and sitting at the tv waiting for it to heat up on the microwave/oven these days pfft