The Greatest Chili

Name: The Greatest Chili
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 205 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 3 lb boneless chuck roast; 3 dried ancho chiles; 2 dried guajillo chiles; 1 dried chipotle chiles; 1 large yellow onion, diced; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 (28 oz) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes; 12 oz Mexican lager beer; 2 cups beef broth; 1 tbsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 tbsp masa harina; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 tsp, plus more to taste kosher salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 lime, cut into wedges (for serving)

Prep

25m

Cook

180m

Total

205m

Bigly says

Folks. FOLKS. We need to talk about chili. The GREATEST chili. The greatest chili in the history of chili — and there's been a LOT of chili, more than people realize, the cowboys had chili, the trail cooks had chili, the Texas prisoners in 1880 had chili, I had people look it up — and every single one of those chilis is INFERIOR to what we're making today. Inferior. Not even close. It's a slaughter.

Now let's address the elephant in the pot — most cookbooks will tell you to put BEANS in your chili. Beans. In chili. This is a CRISIS. The kind of thing that gets a Texan to write you a letter, a long letter, in pencil, on a yellow legal pad, and you deserve that letter. You earned it. Beans are a fine food. Beans belong in a bowl OF BEANS. They do not belong floating in your chili like little kidney-shaped life rafts. End of discussion. Some people will fight me on this. Let them fight. They'll lose. They always lose.

My chili is deep. It's dark. It's smoky. It clings to a spoon like it OWES the spoon money. We are using chuck roast — CUBED, not ground, never ground, ground beef is for hamburgers and weeknight tacos and people in a hurry — and we are toasting three different dried chiles like adults. Three. Anchos, guajillos, a chipotle for smoke. Big strong men cry into this chili. Tough guys, weathered hands, men who do not normally cry, they come up to me and say 'Bigly, I cried into the chili,' and I say, 'Of course you did. Of course you did.' Believe me.

Ingredients

3 lbboneless chuck roast(cut into 3/4-inch cubes, not ground, never ground)
3dried ancho chiles(stems and seeds removed)
2dried guajillo chiles
1dried chipotle chiles
1 largeyellow onion, diced
6 clovesgarlic, minced
2 tbsptomato paste
1 (28 oz) canfire-roasted crushed tomatoes
12 ozMexican lager beer(the dark malty kind, not the light stuff)
2 cupsbeef broth
1 tbspground cumin
1 tbspsmoked paprika
1 tspdried oregano
1 tbspunsweetened cocoa powder(secret weapon, do not skip)
2 tbspmasa harina(thickens and adds corn flavor)
3 tbspvegetable oil
2 tsp, plus more to tastekosher salt
1 tspblack pepper
1lime, cut into wedges (for serving)

Steps

1
Toast the dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds per side, until fragrant. Do not let them burn or they'll turn bitter.
2
Cover the toasted chiles with 2 cups of boiling water in a heatproof bowl and let soak for 15 minutes until soft.
3
Transfer the softened chiles and 1 cup of the soaking liquid to a blender. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
4
Pat the cubed chuck dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper.
5
Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the beef in batches, about 3 minutes per batch, until deeply browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
6
Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion to the pot and cook 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
7
Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and cocoa powder. Cook for 1 minute to bloom the spices.
8
Pour in the beer and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let it bubble for 2 minutes.
9
Add the chile puree, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, and seared beef along with any accumulated juices. Stir well.
10
Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover partially and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beef is fork-tender.
11
Whisk the masa harina with 1/4 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into the chili and simmer uncovered for 10 more minutes to thicken.
12
Taste and adjust salt. Serve in bowls with a wedge of lime.

One more thing

This is the chili that ends chili. After you eat this, you don't go back. You can't go back. The door is closed, the road is gone, the bridge is on fire — in a good way, a delicious way, a smoky way that tastes like ancho and cumin and three hours of patience. Top it with cheese, sour cream, raw onion, whatever you want, it's a free country last I checked, but the chili itself? Don't change a thing. Don't even think about it. It's perfect. It's just a fact.

★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★

Ask Bigly about The Greatest Chili.

Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.

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