Posts Tagged ‘chili peppers’

Chili is the official food of the state of Texas. Chili became popular in Texas during the late 1880s when Hispanic women, called as the chili queens, started selling chili at the streets of San Antonio. They sell it by the bowl to passerby. The strong and delicious aroma of the chili made it an instant hit to the Texans. But what makes Texas-style chili different from standard and traditional chili? Texas-style chili uses chunks of beef instead of the ground beef that is commonly used in most chili recipes. Texas chili also doesn’t contain any beans, tomatoes, or vegetables that are used in other variations of chili. The only vegetable it has is chili peppers, giving it a taste of more beef and chili! The beef used, instead of being ground, are cut into bite-sized chunks usually the size of a pecan nut. The chunked beef gives the Texas-style chili a stew-like texture as compared to the common chili recipes that use ground beef. How to make Texas chili, you ask? Fret not. It’s not as hard as one imagines. Preparation time for Texas chili is about 15 minutes, while the cooking time lasts for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. First things first on how to make Texas chili: ingredients. What you will need are the following: • 3 pounds of beef chucks, cut them into one-inch cubes • 1 large onion • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil • 2 cloves of garlic • 9 chili pepper pods or chili powder • 3 cup of beef broth • 1 cup of tomato sauce or paste or puree • 2 teaspoons of cornmeal or harina flour • salt • ground black pepper • ½ teaspoon of cayenne powder • 1 tablespoon of cumin, ground Once you have all the ingredients done, follow these simple instructions on how to make Texas chili. 1. Get a large pot and over medium heat, cook the beef in vegetable oil until it turns brown. If you need to do this in batches, do it a necessary. It is better to evenly cook the beef rather than rush everything in one go leaving some portions of the beef uncooked. 2. While the beef is cooking, dice the onions and the garlic. Add the diced onions to the beef and let it sauté for about five minutes. 3. Add the garlic and cornmeal and allow it to cook. If you want your chili to have less fat, you can remove and drain the excess fat by this time. Apart from the vegetable oil, the beef as natural fat that will seep out of it while cooking. 4. Add the tomato sauce and chili pepper. Pour the beef broth and allow it to cook. Add the cumin and cayenne powder. Add the salt and ground black pepper to taste. 5. After you have put in all the remaining ingredients, bring it to a boil. Then put it to low heat and allow it to simmer. Cover the pot and stir occasionally. It’s that simple! You know now how to make Texas chili like a real Texan! ... Read More...