Over the years I have tried to come up with a good recipe for chili. I like it to be thick, without a lot of visible vegetables, but not completely devoid of them. My chilis in the past have been everything but, so I did my research and came up with this wonderful homemade chili recipe. The funny thing about researching Texas Chili, is that all the recipes are a secret. They tend to stay in the family and are never spoken out loud. (For example, I don’t think they use bay leaves in Texas). I digress.
Some tips for a great Texas Chili:
- The secret ingredient is coffee, it adds a smoky flavour and doesn’t dilute the taste.
- Apparently tomatoes ruin chili (funny because that was my main ingredient when working with recipe books) Tomato paste is okay, but definitely no tomato chunks. Resist the urge if it comes up - the recipe is built to be tomato free.
- The corn flour is better than white because it supports the flavour of corn bread - an essential for eating chili (or use tortilla chips instead of a spoon)
- If you want a more authentic heat experience, get those hot red chilis from the store and cook them in a cast iron skillet till they are blackened. (Remove the seeds for medium) Add them to the chili and then pick them out as you eat them (SLIGHTLY LESS HOT), or chop em up and leave them in there (HOT)