SNOW DAY!!! SNOW DAY!!! SNOW DAY!!! Boston’s Blizzard of 2011 slammed us hard, and we got to enjoy a bona-fide free day off because of the state of emergency. Yay! Sorry to all you folks without power – but we were toasty and warm within our little garret in Cambridge. After snuggling inWe trudged our way through the 16″ the 1/4 mile to Whole Foods, very apologetically purchased our ingredients (since, because of people like us enjoying the luxury of NOT working in the service industry (anymore), people like our butchers and cheesemongers and cashiers and baggers were working), and enjoyed every minute of it. Thirty years ago I would have been building igloos; today, I built me some dinner. Clayton’s had some hankering for chili, which was all I needed to know to get started.
SNOW DAY POT O’ CHILI
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 lb ground veal
1/2 lb (1) boneless beef shortrib
EVOO
1/4 cup ketchup
1 carrot
3 medium onions
1 head garlic
cumin seeds
paprika
sea salt and black pepper
chili powder
1 can diced San Marzano tomatoes
1 bottle beer
1 can kidney beans
1/4 cup heavy cream
scallions
sour cream
cheddar cheese
cilantro oil (for garnish)
I like my chilis meaty – and textured. Sometimes just ground beef can be pebbly, and – just like a good meatloaf or meatballs – a blend of red meats makes the best flavor. So I gots me 1/2 pound each of ground lamb and veal, and – to add a steak-like chew to the stew – one lovely boneless beef shortrib. I start with that…
This perfect cut of super-amped flavorful beef has lots of connective tissues which need to be braised away. I start by dusting each flat with flour, salt, and pepper.
I then drop it into my hot wok (this is a one-pot meal, BTW) onto a sizzling tablespoon of EVOO…
… and I sear each side until nicely golden browned.
Meanwhile, I peel my onions and garlic, then chop them and my carrot very roughly.
Setting my pan-peared steak aside for a sec, I throw my veg into the remaining hot oil in the wok and stir well, softening everything slightly over medium high heat.
I add all my spices: about 1 tablespoon black pepper, and 1/2 tbs each chili powder, cumin seeds, paprika, and sea salt. Mix well; sauté until the onions are just translucent, stirring regularly.
Pushing all my veg and spice to the side, I drop each ball of ground meat onto the hot surface of the pan, and I poke away at them with the flat of my wooden spatula to break up the rare wads.
After my meats have browned a bit, I nestle my shortrib (and any accumulated juices) into the pan.
I don’t really use tomato puree all that much; I find that ketchup actually works pretty well in its place, especially for an application like this. The added vinegar and lemon juice impart a zip to the final sauce, while maintaining its tomatoey thickrichness.
Chili needs two things: tomatoes (San Marzano are my favorite) and beans. Oh, for those of you who can actually stomach chilies in your chili, this is where you’d add some of them. Back in the day (before my guts mutinied, and I quit being able to eat the heat), I’d add some home roasted jalapeños right about the same time as the tomato, so the flavors could co-mingle unmitigatedly.
My tomatoes. I dump the contents of the can over my meaty meat goodness, and stir well.
Then I dump a bottle of Sam Adams Boston Lager (chili hearts beer) in, too.
Then I cover my pan, set the heat to low, and walk away for an hour. The whole snow-covered house fills with the simmering scent of tomato meat stew.
After said hour, my shortrib is easily enough split with the edge of my spatula.
Time to add my beans. I just dump the whole can, and all its juices, into the chili, and stir well. Finally, I pour in 1/4 cup of heavy cream and mix it thoroughly with the stew. Milk does marvelous things to ground beef, sweetening and softening it, as well as balancing out the acidic tang of my tomatoes. I cover this and walk away for ANOTHER hour.
I’ve toasted off some wedges of baguette slathered in garlic butter. I’ve shredded some 2 yr old Australian cheddar. I’ve chopped up several scallions, and I’ve got some sour cream and homemade cilantro oil. Several healthy scoopfuls of warm, three-meat and kidney bean chili does wonders to defrost the chill inside, due to the waist-high snowdrifts piling up outside. Topped with cream, cheese, cilantro and scallions, this big bowl of beautiful makes this blizzard no big deal.
