Weeknight Chili

There is nothing better than a bowl of hot chili on a cold, rainy evening; it warms the cockles of your heart. We just had the first rain in Durham in 8-9 weeks and, even though it had been 90-plus for a long time, I craved the warmness that my chili normally provides. I decided to make a pot of chili but I ran into a few problems.

One of the problems, and the only downside to my normal chili recipe, is that it needs to cook for four hours. Another problem is that it requires the beef to be cut into cubes instead of using ground beef. I wanted to find a way to make chili on a weeknight without having to slave in the kitchen for half a day. I decided a shortcut was in order, and so I started with very lean ground beef and browned it off in a hot skillet (I normally grind my own sirloin but, for convenience, you may use 93% ground beef). I then added the same spices that would normally go into my regular chili but decided to use corn tortillas instead of masa harina (they act quicker as a thickener than using the masa). I had my chili in about an hour!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: None

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef (93%), divided into 4 equal portions
2 each anaheim, guajillo, and ancho dried chiles
1 chipotle, seeded
1 tbsp of the adobo sauce from the chipotle can
1 cup beef broth
1 16oz jar regular, store-bought salsa (medium)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp each ground cumin and mexican oregano
1/2 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder
1/4 tsp each cinnamon and ground cloves
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 tsp canola oil
1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 large handfulls corn tortilla chips
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Procedure:

Cut the stems off the chiles, remove the seeds, and cut them into small strips with a pair of kitchen shears. Bring the beef broth to a boil and combine it, the chipotle, the adobo, and the chiles in a blender (or you can use an immersion blender). Blend until the chiles are completely incorporated with the broth and it forms a chile paste, set aside.

Heat 1 tsp canola oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Brown the beef, 1/4 pound at a time, and set aside. Combine the beef and the chile paste into a 4-quart pot and place over medium heat. Once the pot is up to temperature, add the tomato paste, anchovy paste, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and soy sauce and stir to combine. Allow it to cook for 3-4 minutes until everything is well incorporated. Stir in the salsa and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Crush the tortilla chips and add them to the pot, stirring to combine. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 45-50 minutes until the chili is thick and all the ingredients have incorporated so that all you can really see is meat and sauce. Remove the bay leaf and serve in a bowl with chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese.

Buen Provecho!