Len's Recipe of the Month - February 2024

 

Now I've made chili before and even posted a recipe here for it.    But good cooks are always open to adaptation.   A YouTube chef I follow is Brian Lagerstrom.  He did a chili that allegedly tastes slow cooked but can be ready in an hour.  I was intrigued and ultimately rewarded, although I did let his concoction slow cooked for a couple of hours.  The longer, the better.

And the first step is the variation.   Instead of browning 2 to 2.5 of 80% ground beef in a pain, Brian has you lay out in a cookie sheet and broil it for 12 minutes.  You supposedly come out with a beefier kind of beef.

While your meat is broiled, prep the aromatics in a Dutch oven.   In some EVOL, saute one chopped onion and a few minced garlic cloves.   When they have some color, add the following:

2 8 0z cans of diced tomatoes.

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce.

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes.  Use fire roasted if you can find it.

1 small can of chopped chipotle peppers.

(Len's addition) 1 small can of green chiles.

1 tablespoon of tomato paste.

4 teaspoons of hot sauce.

2 teaspoons of brown sugar.

2 teaspoons of Worcester sauce.

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.

2 teaspoons of beef flavored "Better than Bouillon."   A great product that is much better than regular beef stock.

Now, as for the spices, I took the easy way out.  McCormick's makes a great package of chili spices.  Use that.  It's cheaper.

Now pour in your broiled beef in small pieces.   Also use any of the juice in the pain.

Add 3 to 4 cans of Bush's dark red kidney beans.   Also a superior product.

Let it simmer for as long as you like.  And it freezes well for future dinners.

See how you like this spin on an old reliable.

Dinner last night:  Some more leftovers of the stuff above.