Delusion

Thursday, travel day.  I leave the office at 3 only to come home at 10 in another time zone- it sucks.  Airplane peanuts don't cut it.   I need real food.  My stomach has begun to adapt to this weekly ritual of torment- my mind hasn't.  I turn on the TV for a distraction.  A WWF commercial comes on, crying out to the world on behalf of poor polar bears.  My first thought is how great it would be to braise a shank of polar bear in Coca-Cola, slow-like for 8 hours.  I could even make a cola reduction to top it off, possibly glaze some carrots, and unite other potential sides to the star of the show.  I'd finish the meal with microwaved ice cream as a tribute to the polar bears' habitat (île flottante crossed the mind, but too much work). 

I turn my head to the window where my [rubber] cacti are.  Nopalitos would be great, and Rick would be proud, but not substantial enough.  Everywhere I look I see food.  Has the sickness spread?  Am I losing my mind?  I close my eyes.  Then, a sound.  Buckley is awake in the other room, devouring the spoils I gave him.  But look at that face- how could anything on this earth ever want to hurt a guy with that face?  In short, my final thought on Buckley, is there isn't enough meat on his bones for anything worthwhile, even though he comes with free toothpicks. 

It has spread- I need help.  I walk to the sink for a glass of water to collect myself.  The kitchen window is cracked open, the breeze shoots straight through to my bones.  It's cold, it's chilly.  It's chili.  That's exactly what I need- and made not of Buckley.  

Chili is the perfect fall dish.  I long ago perfected the dish back in the mountains, where it was a common request.  Every spoonful takes me back to that irreplaceable time and place.  This recipe is for everyone back there, everyone who cherished it.

Stash's Chili

• 1.04 lbs ground sirloin (my butcher never gives the exact 1.00)
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 1 large poblano pepper, diced
  
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 14oz can/box chicken stock
• 1 14oz can [dark] kidney beans
• 1 14oz can okra
• 1 14oz can hominy
  
• 4 Tbl chili powder
• 2 Tbl ground cumin
• 2 Tbl paprika
• 2 [dried] bay leaves
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
  
• 2 Tbl honey
• salt and pepper to taste
  

1. Put the chili powder in a dry dutch oven, or whatever you're preparing the chili in, on medium heat. 
   
2. Once the chili powder is fragrant, pour 2 TBL of olive oil in the pan and turn up the heat.  Add the sirloin.
3. While the sirloin is cooking add all other ground spices (not the bay leaves) into the vessel.  Once properly browned remove the meat into a temporary holding container.  Check the meat for salt and pepper.
   
4. Lower the heat and add the onion and poblano, sauteing them in the meat's fat.  After 5 minutes, add the garlic, and saute.
5. Pour the chicken broth in the pan to de-glaze the bottom.  There may still be meat remnants that need to be incorporated into the dish.
6. Add the rest of the canned ingredients, bay leaves, and honey. 
   
7. Bring the chili to a simmer and then add the meat back in.  Check for salt and pepper.  Simmer for at least an hour.
8. Ladle into individual serving dishes and add any desired toppings.
   

This is a really complicated dish- you have to change the burner strength multiple times, open cans- a true nightmare.  Toasting chili powder is a classic practice in bringing out flavor.  This process can also be done in the oven but I like to use as few vessels as possible- clean up sucks!  Since it's really easy to burn spices I advise to do this on the lower heat.   Once the oil and meat is added to the pan there isn't much risk to burning the chili powder.  The heat needs to be raised to get good browning on the sirloin, or meat of choice.  The last time I made this dish I used my grocer's taco mix, which is coarsely ground skirt steak.  This made the searing step much more important because this meat would contribute more texture to the dish.  The second temperature change is solely so the user doesn't burn the garlic.  Burnt garlic is bitter.  Bitter is bad.  Remember those B's.  

The hominy and okra should be drained.  The other stuff shouldn't.

When you pull the meat out for holding, you may taste it.  You may think, wow that is incredibly over-spiced.  You're absolutely correct!  When you taste the meat at that step it should taste overwhelming.  There are so many other components to the dish that the meat needs to be especially strong to cut through.  As the chili simmers for the hour the meat flavors will disperse and integrate with the rest of the dish.

Why do I have to simmer the chili for at least an hour?  All the components are cooked through and warm!  Fact: Chili always tastes better the next day.  If you simmer the chili for a long period of time the day you plan to serve it, the flavors will merry in the same fashion that they would in the fridge over night.  I also like to simmer for an extended period of time to remove excess water, and thicken the chili.  You can eat mine with a fork, easily.

If you're one of those 'V' people, substitute vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock.  Also replace the meat with black beans, not drained of course.

The traditional toppings for my chili are Cheez-its and hot sauce.  You may never have thought of it before, but it's truly genius- trust me.  My mom always served chili with biscuits and honey.  I serve it with cornbread that I bake while the chili is simmering (just read the cornmeal label for directions).  If you want to be really fancy you can pour the cornbread batter on top of the chili and bake the whole thing in the oven.  Honestly, I've never done that before, but I think it would be pretty cool.

Chili is a very forgiving dish.  It can't really be burned, and if you over-season the dish can be easily diluted with more stock.  Just throw what you have into a pot, and your friends will love it- that's what I did.

Update on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 1:16PM by Stash

Dealing with canned beans has already raised a lot of eyebrows- should we or should we not drain them?  The reason I don't drain the beans is because the liquid they're in acts as a thickening agent for the chili.  The reason everyone else drains them is because that liquid is full of sodium.  When I'm making nachos, or almost any other dish that uses beans, I drain, rinse, and dry the beans.  If you choose to do this for the chili that's fine- I'll never know.

Update on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 10:51AM by Stash

I've learned my lesson not to threaten polar bears anymore.  Such actions can lead to a vicious attack of the worst kind possible.

Comments

[miss v]

thanks for letting us know what us 'v' people should do with this recipe! a true equal-opportunity recipe. ;)

[sloth]

I have tasted the goodness that is the stash chili the only thing missing from this recipe is the corn bread... give it up!

[Stash]

and i quote, "just read the cornmeal label for directions"

[sloth]

damn it. i hate you for pointing out the fact that i skimmed over that.... next year.. late season tailgate.. lets use the deep fryer setup and make a large batch of chili.

[sloth]

victory is mine! chili was a big hit for the football game yesterday... pictures to follow... once i find my usb cable for the camera, ill get them to you

[Tatiana]

Braised polar bear shank... Now there's a thought... A little gamey I bet! LOL