Name: Tremendous Mom's Chili
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 205 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 3 lb ground beef; 2 large white onions, diced; 4 serrano peppers, minced; 2 jalapenos, minced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 6 tbsp chili powder; 1 tbsp ground cumin; 1 large can (28 oz) tomato puree; 2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes; 2 cans (10 oz each) Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies; 2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chilies; 3 cans (15.5 oz each) Bush's chili beans, medium; 2 cans (15.5 oz each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed; 2 to 3 tbsp white vinegar; to taste kosher salt

Tremendous Mom's Chili

Prep

25m

Cook

180m

Total

205m

Bigly says

This is a mother's chili and I want you to understand what that means. It means it was never written down properly. It means the amounts were 'some' and 'a couple' and 'until it looks right,' and somebody finally stood in that kitchen with a pen and got it out of her, and now it exists on paper, and that is a rescue operation. Every family has a recipe like this and most families lose it. This one didn't get lost. That's the only reason you're reading it.

Now look at the pepper situation, because this is where the recipe shows you who it is. Four serranos AND two jalapenos, on top of two cans of green chilies, on top of two cans of Rotel. That is a lot of pepper arriving from four different directions, and every one of them is doing a different job — the serranos bring the sharp front heat, the jalapenos sit in the middle, the green chilies go soft and smoky underneath, and the Rotel brings acid and salt. Layered heat. Not one hot thing shouting. Four warm things in a chord. Restaurant chili almost never bothers.

And then the white vinegar, which is the move nobody expects and everybody should steal. Two or three tablespoons — the card says a quarter cup, and the card is wrong, it's about half again more than this pot actually wants. Here's what the vinegar is for. Three pounds of beef and five cans of beans and a big can of puree — all of that is rich and heavy and it will flatten out on your tongue after four bites. The vinegar cuts straight through it and resets your mouth so bite five tastes like bite one. Too much and you'll taste it, which you do not want. The right amount does not make the chili taste like vinegar. It makes the chili taste like MORE CHILI. Six tablespoons of chili powder in there too, which sounds like a mistake and is not a mistake. This is a big pot. It can take it. Let it go long and low and it'll be better tomorrow, which everyone says about chili and which happens to be true.

Ingredients

3 lbground beef
2large white onions, diced
4serrano peppers, minced(seeds in if you mean it)
2jalapenos, minced
4 clovesgarlic, minced(the original just says garlic — use what you like)
6 tbspchili powder(approximately — it is a big pot)
1 tbspground cumin
1 large can (28 oz)tomato puree
2 cans (14.5 oz each)diced tomatoes
2 cans (10 oz each)Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 cans (4 oz each)diced green chilies
3 cans (15.5 oz each)Bush's chili beans, medium(do not drain, the sauce goes in)
2 cans (15.5 oz each)kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 to 3 tbspwhite vinegar(the recipe card says 1/4 cup — that is about 50% more than it needs)
to tastekosher salt

Steps

1
Brown the ground beef with the onions, serranos, jalapenos, and garlic in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef as it cooks.
2
Drain off the excess fat.
3
Add the chili powder, cumin, tomato puree, diced tomatoes, Rotel, and green chilies. Stir to combine.
4
Add the chili beans with their sauce, the drained kidney beans, and the white vinegar.
5
Bring to a light boil.
6
Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for as long as you have, 1 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Past about 3 hours the beans start breaking down and going mushy.
7
Season with salt to taste.
8
Better the next day: cool, refrigerate overnight, and reheat gently before serving.

One more thing

That's a mother's chili, written down at last, in the amounts she actually used. Big pot, long simmer, and enough to feed a table twice over with a container left for the week. Cornbread if you have it. Shredded cheese and raw onion on top if that's the household you come from. Some recipes you cook because they're good. This one you cook because somebody bothered to write it down before it disappeared.