The General's Chili

Starman5's Note:

This chili won third place in a chili competition. It has been entered in 5 competitions. This chili tastes even better the next day after the flavors have blended overnight. Can be stored in freezer with no loss of taste.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 25 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 16

Yield: 16.0 1 cup

• 4 lbs beef, cut into 1/4 inch cubes or very, very coarsely ground
• 1 lb sweet, mild italian sausage plus 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed or 1 pound breakfast sausage plus 1 ground fennel
• 6 medium tomatoes, finely diced
• 3 cups chopped onions (or two 16 ounce bags frozen, chopped onions)
• 4 cloves, garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 4 dried, medium hot anaheim or" new mexico" chilies, stemmed and deseeded, roasted, then ground into powder (6 to 8 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder, mix (any brand)
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 cup wheat bran flakes (optional)
• 2 quarts water

Directions:

1. Fry, then crumble the sausage.
2. Add all ingredients except crumbled sausage and beef to a stockpot, bring to a boil. Add the beef a little at a time, so that the pieces don't stick together, and reduce to a medium simmer for about 1 hour or until beef cubes are almost tender, stirring every 15 minutes.
3. Add crumbled sausage and reduce heat to a low simmer until beef cubes are tender, another ½ to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
4. The wheat bran flakes add no taste, but makes the chili thicker, and the fiber content is good for digestion.
5. Most chili recipes use coarsely ground beef. This one uses ¼ inch cubes of beef, which would be like very, very coarsely ground beef. It gives the dish a unique heavier texture, and this recipe is a little soupier than most chili recipes. I now use a #22 meat grinder with a grinder plate that has 3/4 inch holes to grind the beef instead of spending the lengthy time to dice the beef into 1/4 inch cubes.

Reviews

[Linky]

This was great chili! I must admit i did make some adjustments tho! I only had hot Italian sausage and didn't have any ancho peppers. I added some diced red, yellow and orange peppers. And I couldn't help myself, but I added a couple cans of black beans. And even some elbow macaroni. It's a Wisconsin thing, I think! Made this for a chili lunch at church - I can't wait to hear if they like it! By the way, who's the General? Spring 2012 PAC