Ingredients:
- 8 Servings
- Original San Antonio Chili
- 900g beef shoulder, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 450g pork shoulder, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¼ cup (30g) suet
- ¼ cup (50g) pork fat
- 3 medium-sized onions, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 L water
- 4 ancho chiles
- 1 serrano chile
- 6 dried red chiles
- 1 tbsp comino seeds, freshly ground
- 2 tbsp Mexican oregano
- salt, to taste
- PREP 30min
- COOK 2h 30min
- READY IN 3h
Adapted from the library of The Institute of Texan Cultures, the following recipe is the one used by the Chili Queens of San Antonio, although slightly adapted to today’s standards and measures. Chili in itself is a pretty simple and easy dish to make. The thing to be mindful of is to wear gloves when handling those hot chilies. And if you’d like to add beans to the dish, make sure you follow the original recipe and cook and serve those separately.
PREPARATION
Original San Antonio Chili
Step 1/6
Start first by lightly flouring the beef and pork cubes. In a heavy pot quickly stir-fry the beef and pork cubes with suet and pork fat.
Step 2/6
Next, add in the onions and garlic cooking them until translucent and soft. At this point, pour in water and leave it to simmer.
Step 3/6
Prepare the chilies by removing the stems and seeds and chop them very finely. Take a mortar and pestle and grind the chilies.
Step 4/6
Add the ground chiles, oregano, ground comino seeds, and salt to the pot and leave to simmer for the next 2 hours.
Step 5/6
When done, remove the suet casing and skim off the fat from the top.
Step 6/6
If you want black beans with the dish, cook and serve these separately.
Step 7/15
Pour in the bouillon, little by little, while constantly whisking, until it turns into a sauce, and then add in the sour cream.
Step 8/15
Add the sauce to the pan with the meat, add more salt and pepper, if needed, and cook just until warmed.
Step 9/15
Peel, then cut the potatoes into thin matchsticks.
Step 10/15
Fry the potatoes in batches in oil preheated to 365°F/185°C, taking care not to overcrowd the pot so the temperature of the oil drops too much.
Step 11/15
Take the potato straws out of the oil once they are golden and place them on a paper towel-lined tray to drain.
Step 12/15
When you’re ready to serve the dish, fry the potato straws in batches one more time in the same oil, only for a second or two, but this time heated to 187°C.
Step 13/15
The final result should be crisp and brown potato straws.
Step 14/15
Lay the potato straws on a paper towel-lined tray to drain, then salt them as desired.
Step 15/15
For serving, divide the meat and the sauce between plates and top them with potato straws.
