Slow-Cooker "Texas Red" Chili con Carne
ByPublished on October 30, 2011
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Chuck-eye roasts are fatty, so don't be surprised if you trim off a pound or more from each one. You should have 5 to 6 pounds of trimmed meat when you start the recipe. Chipotle chiles are smoked jalapeños canned in a red sauce called adobo. They are available near the Mexican ingredients in the supermarket. If you cannot find them, use eight jalapeños. This dish is spicy; for milder chili, reduce the chipotles and jalapeños by half.
Instructions
- Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tortillas, overlapping them as necessary, and cook until blistered on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining tortillas. Tear tortillas into 2-inch pieces and combine with 2 cups chicken broth in microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high until tortillas are saturated, 2 to 3 minutes. Puree mixture in blender or food processor until smooth, then transfer to slow-cooker insert. Add tomatoes and chipotles to blender or processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to slow-cooker insert along with remaining 1 cup chicken broth and brown sugar.
- Cut 1 roast into ¾-inch pieces and cut other roast into 1 ¼-inch pieces. Dry beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown one-third of beef thoroughly on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer browned beef to slow cooker, return skillet to medium-high heat, and repeat with 2 more teaspoons oil and second batch of beef. Transfer to slow-cooker insert and repeat with 2 more teaspoons oil and remaining beef. Transfer to slow-cooker insert. Add ¼ cup water to skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and return skillet to medium-high heat. Cook until almost all water has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet contents to slow-cooker insert, and wipe skillet dry with paper towels.
- Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, jalapeños, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are deeply fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer vegetables to slow-cooker insert. Add 2 tablespoons water to skillet, scrape up any spices, and transfer contents to slow-cooker insert. Stir ingredients to combine thoroughly.
- Set slow cooker to high, cover, and cook until tender, 6 to 7 hours. (Alternatively, cook on low for 9 to 10 hours.) Stir in beans (if using) and cook 15 minutes. Stir in oregano and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Leftovers can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for several months.
To Make Ahead: Prepare recipe through step 3. Store browned meat in individual container and other ingredients together in second container. Refrigerate both up to 24 hours. Transfer to slow-cooker insert and proceed with step 4.
Yield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We developed our "Texas Red" Chili con Carne recipe specifically for the slow cooker. Most slow-cooker recipes don’t bother browning the meat, but this extra step was well wrth every minute. We also found it important to the overall flavor of the chili to brown the onions and chiles and toast the spices. Spices need hot, dry heat to activate their flavors. We purchased two chuck-eye roasts, cutting one into small cubes and the other into large chunks. The smaller cubes broke down to help thicken the chili and the larger chunks provided chewiness. We added pureed toasted corn tortillas to thicken the chili—they might be easier to find than masa harina, which is the traditional thickener. Adding spicy, smoky chipotle chiles gave our "Texas Red" Chili con Carne a deep southwestern flavor.
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