I love to buy chiles, especially when I find ones that are soft and pliant, so fresh you can imagine they were drying in a Mexican field maybe just last week.

I have to be careful, however, when shopping because my storage space is very limited. And the other day when I opened my cabinet, out came tumbling three bags of chiles that hit me on the head. I then realized that I needed to make something that would use up a lot of my supply. Fortunately, there was a big football game and nothing pleases people watching winter sports more than a big bowl of spicy red Texas chili.

Now, I’ve written about chili before and provided you with general guidelines on how I make my chili. I don’t use beans, I don’t use tomatoes but most importantly, I don’t use measurements. It works for me, but can be frustrating if you’ve never made chili and desire more strict instructions.

So for this batch, I decided to multi-task and wrote down what I was adding to the pot when I made my what I dubbed my seven-chile chili. Of course, there were a couple of mishaps—I added way too many ground cloves in the beginning and accidentally added cardamom instead of coriander during one spice addition. But the best thing about chili is that the longer it cooks, the flavors both deepen and blend into a complex dish where the sum of the bowl is greater than its parts.

People often ask if my chili is real deal Texas-style chili. I’ll say yes because I’m a Texan and it’s the chili I grew up eating. Though defining what authentic Texas chili is can be difficult. The term “chili” comes from chile con carne, which translates to peppers with meat. And that’s at heart what I make, with the addition of some spices and aromatics. But there have been some grumbles.

Some people have grumbled because there’s cinnamon and chocolate in my chili, though these flavors are commonly found in Mexican cuisine. Some people have grumbled because there aren’t tomatoes in my chili, though I don’t think that cowboys on the range had access to tomatoes all the time. And some people have grumbled because I don’t use Gebhardt’s Chili Powder, though I can’t buy that in New York and using fresh chiles will trump chili powder any day.

But no matter what people say, I love my chili and usually, those that eat it love it, too. So here is some of my chili with measurements. Enjoy!

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4.98 from 43 votes

Seven-chile Texas chili

Servings 8

Author Lisa Fain

Ingredients

6 anchos, seeded and stemmed
2 pasilla, seeded and stemmed
2 costeños, seeded and stemmed
2 guajillos, seeded and stemmed
4 chiles de arbol
4 pieces bacon
4 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 large onion diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup brewed coffee
1 bottle beer
2 cups water
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 chipotles in adobo
Salt
1/4 cup masa harina
1/3 Mexican hot chocolate tablet, grated

Instructions

Heat the dried chiles (anchos, pasillas, costenos, guajillos, and chiles de arbol) in a dry, cast-iron skillet on medium for a couple of minutes on each side. Turn off the heat and then add enough water to the skillet to cover the chiles, and let them soak for half an hour.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven, fry up your bacon. When done, remove from pan and crumble (Don’t worry if you opt to eat a slice—you deserve it!) and leave the bacon grease in the pot (it should be about 3 tablespoons). In the pot, cook your beef in the bacon grease on medium heat, a few minutes on each side until lightly browned. You will probably have to cook these in 2 batches.
Remove the browned beef from the pot, and add your onions. Cook on medium until clear. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Put the beef back in the pot, and mix in the coffee, the beer, water, bacon crumbles, cumin, cinnamon, clove, allspice, coriander, and cayenne. Add salt to taste and turn the heat up to high.
Your soaking chiles should be soft by now. Drain and rinse, discarding the soaking water (it will be bitter) and place them in a blender along with the canned chipotle chiles and one cup of fresh water. Puree until nice and smooth and then add the chile puree to the chili pot.
When chili begins to boil, turn heat down to low and let simmer for five hours, stirring occasionally. Taste it once an hour, and if the flavors are too muted, feel free to add more of any of the spices. Also, it starts to get too dry, add more liquid (your choice!).
After 5 hours, take a Mexican hot chocolate disc, and finely grate 1/3 of it into the pot. Scoop out 1 cup of broth and add the masa harina. Mix it well and then reincorporate it back into the pot. Stir until chili is thickened.
Let the chili simmer for another half hour or so. Taste and adjust seasonings. When done, serve with cheddar, onions and tortillas.

Notes

If you can’t find all of these chiles, I would just use the more readily available anchos and chipotles. I’d use 6-8 anchos, following the same soaking and pureeing method, and two chipotles.

218 Comments

Homesick Texan I cooked up your recipe. I found it a little more "sweet" than I'm used to but very good! The chile puree was incredible! I got all of the chilis except for the costenas. I'd been using commercially available "chili powder"s and the puree was much better. One question. Which of the peppers would give the chili more heat? Thanks and glad I found your blog.

Gary–Chipotle chiles have the most heat.

Hey Lisa, I am from South Texas (transplanted to NYC, happily) and we definitely ate chili but never a very particular kind. I will say I need beans in mine and masa was never found in any I have eaten. After making your delicious chili I can see how the masa would provide a broader canvas for the chili flavors to shine. Otherwise, just wanted to thank you for the recipe and the blog.

Hi Lisa! I am going to make this chili to serve during tomorrow's 2014 World Cup soccer match, USA v Portugal, and I have a few questions. I bought my ingredients according to your Homesick Texan Cookbook and I notice that this online recipe is a bit different (OL = online, CB = cookbook):

CB – 2 dried chipolte chilis
OL – 2 costeñas chilis

CB – 3 cups water + 1 cup for chili puree
OL – 2 Cups water + 1 cup for chili puree
(this difference is the most confusing to me)

CB – has 1 teaspoon oregano

OL – has 2 chipoltes in adobo (no adobo in CB)

CB – 2 T masa harina
OL – 1/4 cup masa harina
(so twice the amount from one to the other)

You wrote that you don't usually measure the ingredients, but some of these measurements (water, masa) seem like they would make a difference. Your thoughts?

I am going to make the chili puree tonight and put it in 'fridge until early tomorrow morning.

One more note, I am a native Houstonian. I found all of the chilis at Fiesta, but no masa harina (which I found odd). However, I did find it at Whole Foods made by Bob's Red Mill). For the meat, I called ahead to the B & W Meat Co. on N. Shepherd and asked them to cut the chuck into 1/4" pieces for me. Bingo!!!!

All the best – Sarah

Sarah–Well, there are indeed differences between the cookbook and the blog recipes, but chili is very forgiving so it should be fine either way.

4.98 from 43 votes (25 ratings without comment)

A true, authentic Texas chili recipe