This is one of the first chili recipes I wrote down, mostly because I couldn’t ever find a good recipe in any of my chili books and I kept having to re-invent the dish every time I made it. Since I first penned this, chili cook-offs have started including a chili verde category, so I expect there are now more good recipes out there, but I am so pleased with this one I haven’t done more research.

It is important to have a large quantity of good fresh tomatillos for this chili. If you cannot find them, give up and revert to a red chili. There is really no substitute. If you are unfamiliar with tomatillos, they are a mexican fruit that is a cousin to the tomato (both members of the nightshade family. Yes - that nightshade family.) They look like small green tomatoes, with a papery husk. Chose firm fruit with a dry, tight fitting husk. They will last for up to a month in a paper bag in the refrigerator, so if you spot them, grab them and then start looking for an excuse to make chili.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
6 large yellow onions, chopped coarsely
4 long green chili peppers (mild), chopped coarsely
2 jalepeño peppers, chopped finely
2 habenero peppers, chopped finely
6 large cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 pound fresh tomatillos, chopped coarsely
1 12 oz bottle beer (dark mexican is good)
2 cups chicken broth
12 oz medium or hot green salsa with tomatillos
12 oz canned chopped green chilis (mild)
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons coarse ground corn meal

Directions

Cut up the pork

Chop the onions

Chop the peppers and combine in a bowl

Chop the garlic

Remove the tomatillos’ husks, wash and chop

Take a large chili pot or dutch oven (about 12 quarts) with a tightly fitting lid and thick bottom. Cover the bottom of the pan with oil and heat until hot.

Add pork, 2/3rds of the onions, peppers, chili powder and the cumin.
Cook on high, stirring frequently, until the meat is browned and the onions are clear. Scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure nothing sticks and burns.

Take a large roasting or lasagne pan and cover bottom with remaining onions. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and vegetables from the chili pot to the pan.

Place the pan under the broiler and roast until the edges of the meat and onions are crispy. Watch carefully and turn frequently so nothing burns.

NOTE: it is important that everything cooks well at this stage and that there are plenty of crispy crunchy bits.

Drain the oil from the chili pot, leaving any leftover bits from the browning process. Add beer, stock, tomatillos, salsa, canned chilis, cilantro and the broiled ingredients. Add fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.

Using the slotted spoon, transfer the roasted ingredients back to the chili pot. Take a potato masher (or any flat bottomed implement) and mash the ingredients until the pork cubes come apart.

Simmer covered for 2-3 hours. Stir from time to time, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

After the chili has simmered for a while, thicken by adding the corn meal, stirring until well mixed. Simmer for 30 minutes more.

Taste before serving. If the chili is too hot, add sugar or fruit juice. If the chili needs extra heat, add crushed dried chili peppers (chipotle peppers are best). If too acidic, add more cornmeal. Give any adjustments at least 20 minutes to cook into the mix.

Serve with rice or tortillas!

Serves 6-8 people.

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Copyright Alex Cone 1990-2006, All Rights Reserved.

This chili is a variation on the winning recipe in the 1980 International Chili Cook-off, credited to William Pfieffer of Arlington VA. I’ve been tweaking it for years but the original chef deserves much credit.

This is a classic Texas cook-off chili, which is traditionally no-bean, tomato based and smooth consistency. I’ve heard professional circuit chefs swear that 1/8th inch cubes of meat is the biggest thing judges want to see in the chili.

You can do beef and pork combination, as described here, or all beef. I find best is a mix of ground and cubed, as the ground meat tends to come apart and become part of the sauce, while the cubed meat stays identifiable and forms the backbone of the chili. Sharpen your big knife to get the 1/8th inch cubes - partially frozen meat may also be easier to slice into even slices before cubing.

If you cannot find mole, you can substitute cooking chocolate, but really, real mole is best. If using chocolate, beware of burning at the bottom of the pot.

This recipe calls for jalepeños, but I find it is very nice to toss in a handful of other peppers. Half a dozen whole thai mouse dropping peppers and a habenero will give an excellent round heat (and may take the top of your guest’s heads off).

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoons paprika
9 heaping tablespoons chili powder
4 heaping tablespoons cumin
4 cubes of beef bullion, crushed
2 bottles of dark Mexican beer
1 cup water
3 pounds ground beef (lean chili ground chuck is best)
2 pounds ground Pork (lean chili ground is best. if you cannot get it, add some extra ground beef and some extra cubed pork)
1 pound beef cubed to 1/4-1/8th inch (london broil or similar)
1 pound pork cubed to 1/4-1/8th inch (pork chops or similar)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large yellow onions (chopped fine)
10 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 tablespoon mole (powdered or in oil)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon coriander
6 jalepeños, seeded and de-veined, or 2 jalepeños and an assortment of other peppers
24 oz can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon corn meal flour
Salt to taste

Directions

Get a very large, thick bottomed pot - probably the largest you own. Everything will end up in here so we need it big enough to hold everything and it needs a thick bottom to distribute heat well and minimize sticking or burning as we cook.

In the pot, put the oregano, paprika, chili powder, cumin, beef bullion, one bottle of beer and the water. Simmer on low.

In a large skillet, brown 1 1/2 lbs meat with 1 tbsp oil until lightly browned. Drain and add to the simmering spices. Repeat until all the meat has been browned and added to the big pot.

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp oil and add to the simmering spices and meat. The mixture should be thick enough to stand a spoon in. Simmer for 2 hours, adding the second bottle of beer as needed to keep the consistency right.

Add the mole, sugar, coriander, peppers and tomato sauce and simmer for another 45 minutes.

Dissolve the corn meal in 1-2 tablespoons of warm water to make a paste and add to the mixture. Add salt to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes longer.

Taste before serving. If the chili is too hot, add sugar or fruit juice. If the chili needs extra heat, add crushed dried chili peppers (chipotle peppers are best). Give any adjustments at least 20 minutes to cook into the mix.

Serve with grated cheese, diced green onions and/or cilantro as optional toppings. Great with cornbread for dipping!

Serves 12-15 people.

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Copyright Alex Cone 1990-2006, All Rights Reserved.

We love spicy food at CodeFab. We run the New York WebObjects Spicy Food Dining Out Meetup Group. I’ve been having Chili Cook-Offs and other spicy food parties for many, many years. I recently got prodded to share some of my recipes and i thought it easiest to just publish them on our Geek Out blog. Enjoy! Alex

I used to make this dish with jalepeños, but found habeneros much better in several ways. First they have a richer, fruitier flavor, they are usually hotter, and lastly (evil chuckle) they are harder to spot, defeating anyone’s attempt to pick out the peppers, which are clearly essential to the whole composition.

I usually make this in non-stick bread pans or similar rectangular cake / brownie pans. An excellent alternative, if you have a large cast iron skillet, is to fry up a bunch of thick sliced bacon in the skillet and leave the drippings as “non stick grease” and use the skillet instead as the baking pan. Eat the bacon, add to the chili you are making at the same time or even add to the cornbread as you desire. I feel that most recipes are improved (especially vegetarian ones) by the addition of bacon.

Note: I strongly suggest you de-seed, trim and dice the habeneros using the somewhat odd-looking approach of using a sharp knife and a fork. If possible, after piercing the skin, do not touch the pepper’s flesh with bare hands. Some folks even use surgical gloves. I have many fascinating stories about folks who were too casual and then later touched some vulnerable body part. Washing your hands with soap does not remove the magic pepper juice. Scrubbing vigorously with a pot scrubber will make a dent. You have been warned. Scotch bonnet peppers are even more fun!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons sugar (honey or maple syrup makes a nice alternative)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups cornmeal (preferably stone ground yellow)
2 eggs beaten
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
8 oz Colby or Longhorn cheese, grated
1 can cream-style corn
2 (or more!!) ripe orange habaneros, de-seeded and veins removed, diced fine (see note)
Extra butter for greasing the pans

Directions

If you are trying the bacon-iron skillet approach, cook the bacon. Munch while cooking. Reserve drippings.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and sugar. (If using honey or maple syrup, add later with liquid ingredients). Stir in cornmeal. Combine eggs, butter and buttermilk (and sweetener if not using sugar). I usually microwave the butter in a large pyrex container, mix in the buttermilk and then add the eggs, so buttermilk cools things off and the hot butter doesn’t cook the eggs. Stir into the big bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the corn, cheese and finely diced peppers. Add bacon if you haven’t eaten it all. Mix until just blended (make sure you get all the flour or cornmeal from the bottom) but do not over-beat. The batter should be stiff.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. If using the skillet method, heat it up until the drippings are warm and can easily coat the pan. If using baking pans, lightly grease. If they are not non-stick, grease heavily.

Pour the mix in to a depth of 1/2 to 1 inch, depending on depth of pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned on top and a knife comes out clean.

I suggest spreading a kitchen towel on a cutting board, popping the loaves out, and using the towel to flip them back right side up. Let them cool a bit before cutting. If you are not eating right away, wrap the loaves in the towels to keep them warm and moist.

Great plain, buttered, with red pepper jelly, or, of course, dipped in chili or gumbo!

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Copyright Alex Cone 1990-2006, All Rights Reserved.