Recipe: Texas Chili

TEXAS CHILI

In the days of the Chili Queens of San Antonio, chili con carne was a stew cooked in the Mexican clay pot called a casuela. Texas cowboy cooks began preparing this browned and simmered version of chili con carne when the Dutch oven appeared after the Civil War. Spicy canned tomatoes with roasted green chiles added are a modern convenience. Serve with rice or tamales, over tortilla chips, on hamburgers, or eat it out of a bowl with crackers.

4 pounds chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes or ground through a 1/2-inch plate
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
2 to 6 generous dashes of Tabasco sauce
Salt
2 tablespoons masa harina (optional)

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saut the meat, onion, and garlic until lightly colored.

Add the oregano, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, Tabasco, and 2 cups hot water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 1 hour. Skim off the fat while cooking. Salt to taste.

If you wish to thicken your chili, add a little warm water to the masa harina in a mug until it forms a lump-free slurry. Add this a little at a time, stirring vigorously, until the chili reaches desired thickness.

Serve hot.

Serves 8
Excerpted from The Texas Cowboy Cookbook by Robb Walsh
Copyright 2007 by Robb Walsh. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.