Recipe#5460

Title: Chili 15

From: idn1fb@travel-net.com (Frank Butcher) 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 Subject: Frank's Chili 
 Date: 6 Nov 1997 07:17:26 -0600 
 Message-ID: <34722fcf.19109954@mail.travel-net.com> 

Makes about 6 cups
 3 Tablespoons bacon drippings
 1 cup fine chopped onion
 2 cloves garlic, crushed, minced or sliced thin
 1 pound ground meat and/or small cubed meat
 2 (16 ounce) cans of kidney beans, un-drained (or 1&1/2 cups of dry
         beans, soaked and cooked for about 2 hours)
 1/2 cup chopped green, red or yellow pepper (adds colour)
 1 (16 ounce) can of tomatoes, un-drained
 2 Tablespoons sugar
 1 teaspoon ground cumin
 2 Tablespoon chili powder
 2 salt
 1 dash Tabasco
 1 Tablespoon flour
 1/4 cup water
 In a large, heavy pot heat bacon drippings (if you fry up diced bacon to
 get the drippings - leave it in the pot. Adds flavour.) Saute the onions
 and garlic for five minutes. (Perfume the house!) Add the meat and cook,
 stirring, until no red shows. Add beans and green peppers. Add tomatoes
 and spices (I run tomatoes through a blender - add spices and blend
 again). Pour into the pot and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When done
 simmering, blend water and flour. Add to chili; simmer until mix thickens.
 Serve with chopped onions and shredded cheese on the side for garnish. 
 (Also makes a great chili-dog.) 
 ---------
 NOTES:
 I always make a double batch, just to have some left over.
 I usually use 50-50 ground and stew meat, but works well with either.
 To make a "Sportsmans Chili" - increase chili powder to 3 Tbsp; add 1
 Tbsp crushed chilies; increase Tabasco to 3 dashes. (I use a dried
 chili, seeds and all, instead of the crushed chilies. Pull off the
 stem - the blender doesn't like it!)
 The sugar takes the rough edge off the chili powder. The Tabasco adds
 the "fire", and the kick is supplied by the crushed chilies. (Hello
 NASA? I think I've got a new fuel formula for you!)
 I have made this without tomatoes (one guest had an allergy) and used
 water as the liquid - there was a slight change in the volume - no
 noticeable change in the flavour. In larger batches I'll use a couple
 of tins of tomatoes (or equivalent fresh) and water for the liquid.
 I've successfully used everything from kidney to pinto beans and
 chick-peas (garbanzos), and mixtures thereof, in this recipe.
 I strongly suggest that you start at the lower end of the scale and
 find your own heat level. I like my chili hot enough to bring tears to
 my eyes and start a sweat (good reason to serve beer with it!).
 Using sour cream as a condiment helps cool the mouth if you got overly
 enthusiastic at the spice rack. A glass of milk or buttermilk has the
 same effect.
 A friend has used this recipe with wild game - and it worked well.