Chili Done Right

This is the weather for a big pot of chili.It's the perfect chill chaser along with being just a delicious meal.It can be made a variety of ways  but the bottom of line is that it should have some heat,  and there should be beans . Those are the essentials to create the perfect bowl.

Julia Moskin tackled the subject in today's Cooking Lab column in The New York Times Food section. It is one of the oldest dishes in North America, first made by the Aztecs long before the Spanish invaded Mexico. Their version had several variations that included lobsters fish and even frogs! They also included a well rounded blend of chilies, from red, yellow and green along to ones that were pickled, smoked and dried. The dish entered the US , namely Texas  by way of Mexican cowboys who brought it to cattle ranches along the Rio Grande River.They were used to eating tough longhorn meat that had been softened by water and made palatable with different chili peppers.This was the original carne con chili or carne con chili Colorado, so named because of the dark red color {or Colorado in Spanish }of the beans.This is the forebear of our modern Texas style one.The German immigrants who settled later on in the Longhorn State contributed to the recipe too. They added dried , powdered chilies to the dish which was surprisingly similar to their goulash. William Gebhardt   ground the peppers into a fine  powder which could be easily added to the blend.

A good basic chili recipe should have a good dash of cumin. Coriander should also be added, although many home chefs omit it.This came from the  Spanish families from the Canary Islands  who were paid by the  Spanish crown to settle the area in the 1700s. Their contribution was spices along with herbs and garlic, hallmarks of TexMex cuisine and chili.Traditional recipes call for unsweetened chocolate  as well as Mexican beer. For fire there is sliced  jalapenos along with chili powder made ancho and pasilla with .Ms. Moskin recommends four to seven fresh ones but adding them depends on you and your tastes. Masa harina is also added for thickening. The meat should be a beef chuck roast or steak however you can sub in more beans or soy meats such as soy beef crumbles for a healthier chili. Remember that the best ones have to sit for a day or two for the best flavor. Ms. Moskin suggests using fritos or tortillas but polenta is always good with it as is rice.

Chili is one of the best cold weather dishes It's a comfort food that warms you both literally and figuratively . Make a bowl of it in the traditional style or your way. It's bound to be good.