Homemade Texas Chili

Just so you know, authentic Texas Chili is not cooked with beans. Some may argue, but it really is true. It's not made with ground beef either. There is a lot of mystique around Texas Chili and it sounds all complicated (and it can be) but most of the time, it really is easy to make as long as you've got patience on your side. The results are so worth it, so kick back and stir you up a big ol' pot of Texas Chili, hold the beans, please! (Like usual, I didn't measure so adjust to your preferences, these are all guesses.)

This recipe has been submitted to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday Blog Carnival.

-Amanda

Texas Chili

1.5 lbs of stew meat
1 onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
3-4 slices of bacon
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
3-4 cups of homemade bone beef broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup of minced beef liver (okay, this is not traditional to Texas Chili*)
1/4 cup Braggs apple cider vinegar**
1 tbsp of chopped ancho chili in adobe sauce
2 chopped fire roasted anaheim chilies
3-4 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp ground cumin
salt

garnish:
Sour cream
Raw milk cheddar cheese
Diced green onion
1 tbsp coconut oil per bowl***

Cut bacon into small dice. Place in a large pot (cast iron dutch oven is traditional, I didn't use my tonight though) and cook until almost crispy. Meanwhile chop one onion into a small dice. Add it to the bacon and cook on a medium low heat until the onion is very translucent. Do not rush this step. When onions are translucent, add minced garlic. Then put in your anaheim chili and ancho chili (or any chilies you want, really.)

Next go in the spices. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin and generous amount of salt. Stir well to "toast" the seasonings. Add the tomato paste, and again stir in well. You want to actually get "color" on the tomato paste developing flavor. Stay on a medium heat, you want color, not burn. At this point you want to deglaze the skillet. That means add a liquid to pull up the brown bits that are starting to stick to you pot. Traditionally you'd use a beer, but I grabbed apple cider vinegar instead.

This is a good time to add the liver. Make sure the liver is chopped extremely well or even puree it in a food processor. Next goes in the stew meat. Stir to coat the meat with all of the spices. Add 3-4 cups of homemade bone-beef broth. The chili will be very soupy at this point. Lower the heat and let simmer for hours. I started my soup at 1pm and we ate at 7pm. The longer it just sits and slightly bubbles the better, just walk by and stir it every once in awhile. Somwhere after about 4 hours or so you can start to tear apart the beef. It'll start to shred and fall apart. That is why there is no flour in this meal. The broth will slowly reduce from simmering and the beef shredding will soak up the additional broth. You will be left with a thick and delicious chili. Enjoy!

* LIVER: From the Weston A. Price Foundation website: So what makes liver so wonderful? Quite simply, it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. In summary, liver provides:

• An excellent source of high-quality protein
• Nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A
• All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12
• One of our best sources of folic acid
• A highly usable form of iron
• Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
• An unidentified anti-fatigue factor
• CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function
• A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.

** APPLE CIDER VINEGAR: I've been using Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar more often because of it's health benefits. I'm sure cooking it all day, probably rids some of the nutritioun, but I needed something to deglaze the pan with and figured it wouldn't hurt. Here are some of the benefits of a REAL apple cider vinegar, such as Braggs brand:

• Rich in enzymes & potassium
• Support a healthy immune system
• Helps control weight
• Promotes digestion & ph Balance
• Helps soothe dry throats
• Helps remove body sludge toxins

*** COCONUT OIL: I try to add coconut oil to anything I can. It is very healthy for you. Among other things, it aids in metabolism, helping to lose weight. (More info here.)