Crock potAmerican
Weeknight beef chili
Chuck or stew meat, beans if you want them, a long Low. Chili is a braise that happens to have cumin.
Made it?
6 hr · 25 min hands-on · pull 200°F
Ingredients
4.5 lb on the fire · ~2.3 lb to the table · 5 plates at 8 oz
- chuck, ¾-inch cubes (or coarse grind)4 1/2 lb
- onions, diced2
- garlic cloves4
- chili powder2 tbsp
- cumin1 tbsp
- oregano1 tsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- cans (14 oz) crushed tomato2
- can (15 oz) pinto or kidney beans, drained (optional)1
- beef stock1 cup
Method
- 1
Brown the beef in a skillet if you can — 6 minutes, in batches. Onions and garlic into the fat. Dump everything in the crock.
- 2
Low 6 hours. Stir once at 3. Beef should shred at the edges.
- 3
Taste salt and chili powder. Lime or vinegar at the end. Cheese and onion at the table.
If you don’t have it
- Chuck cubes → Coarse grind or leftover brisket. Brisket in for the last 2 hours so it does not dissolve.
- Beans → None, or hominy. Your house, your chili.
Same cook, different day
No-bean
Texas-lean. Skip beans, add ½ lb more chuck, same spices.
Next-day
Always better. Fridge overnight. Fat lifts off. Reheat on Low 1 hour.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making mashed potatoes.
Start when the roast has 30 minutes left, or while a steak rests. Russets, salted water, drain hard. Rice or mash. Butter first, then warm cream. Do not put them on the fire — they want a pot.
35 min
- With this dish, try making petite roasted potatoes.
Same pan as a roast or chicken. Or a sheet next to chops. Halve, oil, salt, rosemary. 425°F cut-side down until the faces brown. Toss in the meat drippings at the end.
40 min
- With this dish, try making skillet cornbread.
While a shoulder rests, or the last half hour of ribs. Cornmeal, buttermilk, an egg, a screaming-hot skillet with bacon fat or butter.
30 min