New Mexican Red Chile with Beef
Try This Classic Version of the Popular Southwestern Chili Recipe
Oct 13, 2008
New Mexicans like their chili straight, simple, and authentic—so authentic, in fact, that they insist on spelling the dish the way it is in Spanish: chile, not chili. Indeed, when you says "chile" to a New Mexican, you're just as likely, if not more so, to be referring to a cooked chile sauce rather than to a main dish.
Dried chili peppers themselves are the stars of this chile colorado, or red chili. Add or up the quantity of meat, with beef being the most common companion for dried red chilies, and you get an intensely flavored, very satisfying bowl of chili.
To toast dried chilies as called for in the recipe that follows, a step that develops their flavor, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Wipe the chilies clean with a kitchen towel and spread them out on a baking sheet. Put the sheet in the oven and roast just until the chilies noticeably darken in color and give off a spicy aroma, 3 to 5 minutes. Watch carefully, removing the chilies from the oven as soon as they are ready, so they don't burn. Then, leave them uncovered at room temperature until cool enough to handle before you pull of their stems, split them open, and remove the seeds.
Chile Colorado (New Mexican Red Chili with Beef)
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 20 dried Anaheim chilies, toasted, stemmed, and seeded (see above)
- 4 medium-sized garlic cloves, peeled
- 6 cups good-quality canned beef broth
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 pounds good-quality stewing beef, trimmed of all visible fat and connective tissue, cut into 1-by-1/2-inch chunks
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup sour cream, for serving
- 1/2 cup dried oregano, for serving
Cooking directions:
- In a blender or a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade, put the toasted dried chilies, garlic, and 2 cups of the broth. Process until the chilies are pureed. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the beef generously all over with salt and pepper and sauté until evenly browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Carefully pour off half of the fat from the pot. Add the pureed chili mixture to the beef and sauté for 2 minutes more.
- Stir in the remaining beef broth and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, partially cover the pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, about 1 1/2 hours.
- To serve, ladle the chili into bowls and garnish with sour cream and oregano.
If you like, serve the chili over steamed rice or cooked whole pinto beans that you've cooked from scratch or heated from a can. Or use the chili as a filling for burritos.
Looking for more great chili recipes. Check out Shredded Beef Chili, Texas Chuckwagon Beef Chili, or Chicken Breast White Bean Chili!
 |
