Tex Mex Chili marydukecooks.com

If you are like me I’m sure you have made numerous versions of chili. Texas chili contains no beans or tomatoes and uses roast in addition to ground beef. Mexican chili has beans, tomatoes, and ground beef. My version is a mixture of the best of both with authentic seasonings and chili peppers to boot! I’ve started using dried chili peppers in addition to fresh ones this year. The dried and fresh chili peppers give this chili authentic flavor you can’t get from spices alone.

The best part of this recipe is that it cooks in a slow cooker after you have browned the meat, onions and peppers on the stove and deglazed the pan to get all the browned yummy bits. This is the secret to making great tasting chili in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chili

2 dried New Mexico chili peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups yellow onion. ½ inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ red bell pepper, ½ inch dice
1 Poblano pepper, ½ inch dice
1 Anaheim pepper, ½ inch dice
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 pounds ground sirloin
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Mexican seasoning mix (recipe follows)
½ bottle Mexican beer, (I use Corona)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
Garnish: onions, pickled jalapeno peppers, shredded cheddar cheese, corn chips, cilantro or sour cream.

Make Mexican seasoning mix. Set aside. Cut stems from dried chili peppers. Make a slit up the side of the peppers and remove seeds. Toast dried chili peppers in a dry skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes. (They will change color, make sure not to burn.) Remove chilies from skillet, cut each into 3 pieces, place in a small bowl and cover with 1/2 cup boiling water. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let steep 15 minutes. Pour chili peppers and water into a blender and blend until pureed. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a stockpot over medium high heat until rippling. Add onion through ground sirloin. Cook about 7-8 minutes or until beef is browned. Sprinkle flour over mixture and add Mexican seasoning mix. Stir and cook 2 minutes or until spices bloom. Add beer and deglaze stockpot by scraping all browned bits from bottom of pan. Add pureed New Mexico chili peppers, salt, tomatoes, kidney beans, and tomato sauce.

Transfer mixture to a slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low.

Garnish with onions, pickled jalapeno peppers, shredded cheddar cheese, corn chips, cilantro or sour cream. Makes 12 servings

Mexican Seasoning Mix

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder

Mix all ingredients together. Reserve.

Published in The News and Neighbor on November 15, 2017