Recipe for "chili-1"

NAME

     CHILI-1 - A hearty (and hot) Texas-style chili
     This is a chili traditional in our  Super-Bowl  Sunday  fes-
     tivities.   It has won several ``no holds barred'' (non ICS)
     chili cookoffs where there are no specific rules.  It is the
     result of countless changes and adjustments of a small group
     of chili afficianados (aka chiliheads).  Note:  there  is  a
     range  of  peppers  specified, you may adjust the ``tempera-
     ture'' of the resultant chili, mild if you use the low  end,
     or nuclear if you use the high end (we do!).

INGREDIENTS (serves 7-9)

     1 kg      cheap steak (not too fatty)
     500 g     stewed tomatoes
     500 g     whole tomatoes
     250 g     tomato sauce
     250 ml    water (or beer)
     75 ml     chili seasoning (*see note below)
     1         large red onion, chopped coarse
     2         garlic cloves, minced or crushed
     2-6        fresh jalepeno peppers, seeded and minced
     2-6        dried arbole or serrano peppers, whole
     3         Anaheim  or  California  (large)  chilis,  chopped
               coarse
     1         bell pepper, red or green (optional).
     30 ml     brown sugar
     5 ml      salt
     10 ml     black pepper
     30 g      masa flour
     200 g     cooked pinto beans

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Trim the meat of all visible fat.  If there  is  a
               large  strip  of fat on one side of the meat, save
               it whole.  Cut meat into 1/2-cm cubes,  and  brown
               it in a frying pan.
          (2)  In a large chili pot, place tomatoes, tomato sauce
               and water or beer.  Bring to a slow boil.
          (3)  Add the  meat,  chili  seasoning,  onion,  garlic,
               peppers,  sugar, salt and pepper. If you are using
               the optional bell pepper, cut it into 2-cm  strips
               and  add them now. If you have that large piece of
               steak fat, add it now; if not, add 15 ml of  cook-
               ing  oil.   Cover and reduce heat, simmer at least
               one hour (two to three is better)  stirring  occa-
               sionally.  At  the end of the simmering remove and
               discard the piece of steak fat.
          (4)  Mix the masa flour with about 60 ml water and  add
               to  chili  pot  along with the pinto beans (or any
               kind  you  prefer).   Simmer  an   additional   30
               minutes.
          (5)  Serve.  If you have made the nuclear version, make
               sure there is plently of beer on hand.

NOTES

     For chili seasoning, we make  up  batches  consisting  of  8
     parts chili powder, 2 parts ground cumin, and 1 part crushed
     (not ground) cayenne peppers.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy to moderate.  Time: 30 minutes preparation,
     11/2 to 3 hours cooking.  Precision: approximate measurement
     OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Pete Bellas
     Citicorp TTI, Santa Monica, CA
     {randvax|trwrb|philabs|vortex}!ttidca!ttidcb!bellas