Original Texas-Style Chili
Serves 6–8 Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 10 Steps 6
The original Texas-style chili version of chili con carne contains no vegetables at all, except chili peppers. If using fresh peppers, they should have been prepared by being boiled, peeled, and chopped. If using dried peppers, they need to be soaked in hot water for 1 hour before being chopped.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (1.3 ) beef or other meat
- 2 oz (55 ) beef kidney suet
- 4 chile pods, skinned and blistered, or sun-dried chiles
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon crushed cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce (optional but frequently included)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped (or more, to taste)
- 2 heaping tablespoons masa harina
Steps
- Sear the beef in a little cooking oil (not lard) until lightly browned.
- Add the seared beef, suet and chile pods to a large iron skillet or pot (at least four quarts). Add enough water (the reserved pepper water if you prepared the pods) to keep the meat from burning. Bring to a boil. Lower heat. Cover. Simmer about 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Add the spices and garlic. Return to the stove. Bring to a boil. Lower heat. Simmer another hour, keeping the lid on as much as possible.
- Stir only when necessary; too much stirring tears the meat. Add as little water as possible if anything is in danger of burning.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Skim off all or most of the grease.
- Mix in the masa harina to thicken. Simmer about 30 minutes more until the meat is done. Taste often and adjust the seasoning.
Notes from the original
- Many of the above quantities may be somewhat adjusted up or down, depending on personal taste.
- The meat is simply bite-size—traditionally, it was the size of a pecan nut—or coarsely ground, with ½-inch plate holes in a meat grinder as standard. It must always be beef, venison, or other mature meats. Stewing meat also works well. Prime beef or veal, on the other hand, are not suitable for chili con carne, as they tend not to remain solid.
- Many cooks omit the suet as being much too greasy, although it does add flavor.
- Ancho or Anaheim peppers are recommended. For an "elevated" flavor, use four pepper pods per pound of meat; for a milder "beginners" version, use only 2–3 pods.
- Chili powder is a barely adequate substitute in the original recipe, but it lacks the subtle sting of the pods. A heaping teaspoon of chili powder is the approximate equivalent of one average-size chili pod.
- Crushed tortilla chips can be substituted for masa harina (this is what Alton Brown did on the Food Network show Good Eats).
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Original Texas-Style Chili” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-21, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.