Ramages Texas Chili No. 6

I'm not going to say my Chili is the best, or fastest, or easiest to make... But it is the best I have ever had!

• Ready In: 5 hrs
• Serves: 15
• Yields: 4 quarts

Ingredients

• 5  lbs ground beef
• 7  cups beef broth (homemade if possible)
• 5  tablespoons chili powder (homemade if possible)
• 4  tablespoons onion powder
• 4  teaspoons garlic powder or 12  garlic cloves
• 5  teaspoons aleppo pepper
• 3 1⁄2 teaspoons black pepper (fresh ground)
• 4 1⁄2 teaspoons cumin (Fresh toasted and ground)
• 4  teaspoons kosher salt
• 2.5 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 15  roma tomatoes (Peeled and seeded then pureed)
• 5  poblano peppers (Peeled and seeded then pureed)
• 2  anaheim chilies
• 10  serranos
• 5  jalapenos
• 2 1⁄2 habaneros
• 5  pasilla de oaxaxaca chilies

Directions

1. Put heat to medium.
2. 1. Add your stock to a 4qt cast iron pot, put heat to medium and reduce by 1/3.
3. 2. Brown your meat in small 1/2 pound batches, don't let the bottom of the pan burn! de glaze with the beef broth if needed and add liquid back into the pot, after meat is done add the Tomato Paste.
4. 3. After all the meat is browned reduce heat to medium low and add chili, onion, and garlic powder along with the salt, cumin, and pepper. Cook for 15 min before making your adjustments
5. 4. Peel and deseed your tomatoes, and add to the blinder along with the stemmed and deseeded peppers and the dried Pasilla Chiles (also stemmed and deseeded and cut into quarters), blend on high for about a minute. This may need to be done in batches. Note if you don’t have room in the pot you need to continue to reduce the chili, cook for 30 min
6. 5. If you think it needs more heat add some cayenne pepper and additional chili powder
7. 6. Leave uncovered can cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring every 15-30 min (you do this to help thicken the chili)
8. 7. After 2 hours make finial seasoning adjustments
9. 8. Chili should be very thick in the end you can check it by take a wooden spoon and stick it in the chili. It should stay put -- it best when it takes force to pull it out :).
10. TIPS:
11. I like to select different cuts of lean meat, for a 5 pound batch I usually go with 1 pounds ground sirloin, 3 pounds chili grind chuck, and 1 pound tri-tip or flank cut into chunks about as big as a finger tip.
12. De-seed the peppers, and the Poblano needs to be pealed as well, this can be done a few ways -- The easiest would to use a blow torch to burn the outside of it (the other would be to place them under broil) then placing into a plastic bag to "steam" then wipe the skin off. After you have everything seeded place them in the blinder and puree.
13. To peel tomatoes to simply cut an X into its bottom and place into boiling water till you can see the skin start to loosen. Then move to ice water to shock, skin should come right off. Cut in half to get seeds out.
14. If at all possible use fresh chili powder and cumin you will taste the difference.
15. If you go with fresh garlic puree with tomatoes and peppers.
16. I do my Chili cooking in an cast iron enameled crock pot; otherwise it can get a metallic smell.
17. Don’t thicken with flower or corn starch… that is cheating
18. Some great serving options include a big bowl and a large spoon, nothing else is required.
19. My Chili Powder: yields about 1 cup.
20. 4 Ancho chilies (or any combo of mild dried peppers)
21. 3 Dried New Mexico chilies (or any combo of mild dried peppers)
22. 3 Cascabel peppers For heat:
23. 5 to 7 (depending on how hot you want it) Dried Chiles de Arbol or Chipotle (or any combo of hot peppers)
24. 2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted
25. 2 tablespoons garlic powder
26. 2 teaspoons ground oregano (Mexican oregano, if you can get it)
27. 2 tablespoon Smoked Paprika.
28. Stem, de-seed and roast peppers on 350 for about 8 min Toast cumin on medium high heat till faint whiffs of smoke can be seem (about 2-3 min) Grind everything till it's a powder.