Texas Red Chili con Carne (No Beans)

Name: Texas Red Chili con Carne (No Beans)
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients: 3 lb boneless chuck roast, in ½-inch cubes; 6 oz dried ancho chiles (about 12), stemmed and seeded; 8 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 tbsp masa harina; 1 small onion, diced, to serve; 1 cup shredded cheddar, to serve; 2 jalapeños, sliced, to serve; 2 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp dried oregano; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper

DinnerTex-Mex180 minServes 6730 kcal52 g protein

Photo: Agentseven at en.wikipedia · Public domain · source

San Antonio's chili queens style: cubes of chuck slowly simmered in a brick-red purée of toasted ancho chiles, garlic and cumin until spoon-tender. No beans, no tomatoes, all chile.

Make it part of your week. MealTote sizes this recipe for everyone you cook for, adds it to a weekly meal plan and puts the ingredients on one grocery list split across your stores. Open it in MealTote

Ingredients

3 lb boneless chuck roast, in ½-inch cubes
6 oz dried ancho chiles (about 12), stemmed and seeded
8 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp masa harina
1 small onion, diced, to serve
1 cup shredded cheddar, to serve
2 jalapeños, sliced, to serve

From your pantry: 2 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper.

Instructions

Toast the anchos in a dry skillet over high heat for about 10 seconds per side, until fragrant. Cover with water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let them soak until soft, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile season the beef with salt and pepper and brown it in batches in a large pot with 1 tbsp oil over medium-high, 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Move it to a bowl.
Add the remaining oil and the garlic to the pot and stir for 30 seconds. Scrape it into a blender with the drained chiles, cumin, oregano and 2 cups fresh water and blend until completely smooth.
Return the beef to the pot, pour in the chile purée plus 4 more cups water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring now and then and adding water if it gets too thick, until the beef is very tender, 2 to 2½ hours.
Whisk the masa harina with ¼ cup water, stir it in and simmer 10 minutes more to thicken. Taste for salt and serve in bowls with onion, cheddar and jalapeños.

Tip: Taste a soaked ancho first: if it is bitter, rinse the chiles well and discard the soaking water, which carries most of the bitterness. Serve saltines or cornbread on the side if you like.