3 lbs ground bison (bison can be found in some health stores)
3 fresh poblano peppers
2 medium onions
3 10-oz cans Rotel diced tomatoes
4.5 tablespoon New Mexico Chilli powder
1.5 teaspoon ground comino
1.5 teaspoon paprika
3 cloves garlic
1 fresh lime
PREPERATION
The New Mexico chilli powder might be bought from one of a number of mail-order resources if you don't have a local source. The Rotel tomatoes are hot, so you can substitute regular tomatoes to cool it a little (but it's going to be hot anyway!).
Brown the bison meat. Bison is lean and clumpy, so add a little oil and break it up as you brown it. Add finely chopped onions and garlic. When onions are clear, add tomatoes and spices.
Add water to barely cover, and simmer until meat is tender. Add chopped poblanos for last 20 minutes of simmer, and stir in lime juice before serving.
Skirt Chilli
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs beef skirt (tenderised, if possible)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
16 oz canned green chillies (4 4-oz cans)
3 tomatoes
1 large white onion
6 dried chilli anchos
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoon ground comino
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
PREPERATION
Cut the stems from the anchos, and remove seeds. Cover with boiling water and let sit for an hour. Blend in blender with the garlic until smooth.
Slightly warm the honey and mix in the soy sauce. Coat beef skirt with meat tenderiser (if you think necessary) and honey-soy and let sit 15 minutes. Cook beef skirt on very hot grill, basting often with honey/soy mixture.
Cut beef skirt across the grain into 1/4" strips, and set aside a little for snacking. Dice the green chillies, onion, and tomatoes. Add the beef, vegetables, and spices to large pot. Add half the ancho sauce and water or beer to barely cover. Add more ancho sauce over time to suit your taste. Cook until meat is really tender.
Rojos Y Verde (Red and Green)
INGREDIENTS
3 lb lean roast
28 oz canned green chillies (7 4-oz cans)
20 oz canned tomatillos
1 can condensed chicken broth
a handful of dried red peppers (arbol, finger-hots, pequins, or tai peppers)
1 large white onion
1 tomato
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground comino
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1 bay leaf
PREPERATION
This chilli is in the style of New Mexico green Chilli stew.
Remove stems from red peppers and chop into parts to separate out the seeds and expose interiors. Cover with boiling water and let sit for an hour. Blend into smooth sauce with blender. (Warning: Don't get the sauce in your eyes!)
Brown the roast as if making pot roast - coat meat with flour and brown every surface in olive oil. Add chicken broth and water up to one inch deep and cover. Simmer meat by itself for one hour over low heat.
Lightly blend the tomatillos and three green chillies in blender. Dice the remaining green chillies, garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Add the sauces, vegetables, and spices to the pot with enough water to cover.
When the meat is falling-apart-tender (several more hours, typically), use two forks to shred it into small chunks.
Serve topped with slices of avocado and white cheese, along with sides of beans and jalapeno cornbread.
Flat Snake Chilli
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lbs German link sausage
6 dried chilli anchos
16 oz canned green chillies (4 4-oz cans)
4 large tomatoes
1 large white onion
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoon ground comino
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
PREPERATION
Cut the stems from the anchos and remove seeds. Cover with boiling water and let sit for an hour. Blend in blender until smooth.
Dice the green chillies and tomatoes. Add the vegetables and spices to the pot. Add half the ancho sauce and water or beer to barely cover. Add more ancho sauce over time to suit your taste. Simmer.
Notes
PREPARING DRIED PEPPERS
Most peppers can be re-hydrated by removing the stems and seeds, and soaking or cooking them in hot water. Dried New Mexico or Anaheim chillies require more work.
The New Mexico/Anaheim varieties have smooth, tough skin. If you try the soak-and-blend technique, you get a mess that must be finely strained before using.
You can cut off the tops of the peppers to remove the stems and seeds, and to expose the interior. You can then steep them for an hour in hot water. Then cut the peppers in half length-wise. For each half, scrape off the inner pulp with a flat knife, angled away from the scraping direction. Then scrape the pulp off the knife into the blender. This takes some practice, but the rewards are great!
If you have a food processor, you can make your own Chilli powders. It probably amounts to, "put dried peppers in food processor and press the 'powder' button.''
SEASONINGS
I don't mention salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and that sort thing, because you should use them according to your own taste and experience. The recipes above are just a starting point.
SKIMMING GREASE
If you cover the simmering pot and leave undisturbed (some people are compulsive stirrers), the grease will be easier to skim.
CHIPS ON THE SIDE
You can make great tortilla chips without oil. Put four corn tortillas on a lightly greased plate and microwave them on high power for 5 minutes.
GREEN CHILLIES
All these recipes have green chillies, except for the Rojos Y Verde, you can leave them out.
THICKENING
Many cooks thicken their chilli with masa or wheat flour. In the recipes above, there is plenty of chilli pulp, so no thickening is required. Thickening can soften the flavour, which may be called for if you have delicate tastes. To thicken mix a tablespoon of flour with 3 tablespoons of warm water and stir into the chilli for the last 20 minutes of simmer.
ADDING OIL OR FAT
Some meats such as venison are so lean that the spice flavours are not conveyed properly. Unless you're making a super-low-fat chilli on purpose, taste can be enhanced by adding a little oil for these meats.
ALCOHOL
The evaporation of alcohol during cooking can leach the aromatics from your chilli. If you use an alcoholic drink for flavouring, perhaps "pre-cooking'' it can ameliorate the effect.
