Saturday, February 5, 2011

buffalo chili

Tonight, I'm making buffalo chili.  YUM!  We're having a few friends to watch the Super Bowl which is being hosted in Big D (actually in Arlington which is a little town between Dallas and Ft. Worth, which is about 30 miles apart along I-30, and Arlington is really just 15 miles from downtown Dallas).  The area is all a hubbub about the big game being here.  With the weather we've had this week... it's been interesting to say the least.  So, anyway, I'm making chili to serve the hungry football fans.  Today, I'm going to show you how I make my chili.



 I start with onions sauteed in olive oil.


 I then add a bunch of garlic.  I'm making a double batch by the way so the proportions will be a bit off.




 This is what I'm using.  I've got four pounds of ground buffalo.  Yes, I said buffalo.  It is much healthier than beef and really tasty.  You could use buffalo chuck and cut into small bits to get a 'chili grind' but I just decided to use straight ground buffalo.   I like using 'Wick Fowlers' two alarm chili seasoning packets.  They are all measured out and it's really easy.  I've made chili without the packets and it's just as good cause I have secret ingredients.  I'll share my secret ingredients in a minute.




 This is my onions, garlic, and meat sauteing.  For the record, you could also use beef, venison, turkey, or whatever other meat you'd like.




 These are my secret ingredients.  Shiner Bock beer and powdered chipotle peppers, which are really dried and smoked jalapenos.
I used about 1 TB of the chipotle and one beer per each batch of chili.



 This is what the packets look like.  They're nifty.  I added the jalapeno for flair.




We save the masa for later.




 I use all of the red pepper.  I like things pretty spicy.  I don't really think it's too hot but I don't know what your tastes are like so go at your own risk.  You will add all of the packets, save the masa for later, and add the red pepper and chipotle as you need to depending on the heat level.  Add one 28 oz can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes, one shiner bock beer, and one can of water (this is for one batch of chili which will need two pounds of meat).




I even added another jalapeno for good measure... and the chipotle pepper is hot too so this will get you warming up under the collar.  YUM!

It's still cooking... I will add the masa later to thicken it.  Masa is basically finely ground corn meal and it works as a thickener.  You will mix it with about a quarter cup of cold water and mix it into the chili.  It just makes the consistency just right.

Make chili while it's so friggin cold.  I've been making this chili for years and even when I was in college.  My mother would send me the chili packets in my care packages so I could make chili for my friends.  YUM!

Happy chili eatin!

-P

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