Our Favorite Texas Chili
- PREP 30min
- COOK 3hrs
- TOTAL 3hrs 30min
We love this Texas chili recipe made with beef, an easy homemade chili paste, and spices. We don’t add tomato or beans to this chili. Instead, beef chuck happily stands and simmers in an outrageously flavorful liquid until fork tender. It’s delicious!
Choose beef with a good amount of connective tissue and fat (like beef chuck). As it cooks, the connective tissue will break down, leaving you with incredibly tender cubes of meat.
You Will Need
4 pounds (1.8kg) beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and gristle, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 whole dried New Mexico or California chili peppers
3 whole dried Guajillo chili peppers
3 whole dried Ancho chili peppers
6 cups (1.4L) rich vegetable, beef, or chicken stock
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large fresh poblano pepper, seeds removed and chopped
6 medium garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons)
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chipotle powder, for spicy chili, see tips
1 tablespoon masa harina or 1 to 2 small corn tortillas torn into small pieces
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Prepare Chiles
Use kitchen scissors to snip off the stems and shake or scrape out the seeds from the dried chile peppers. If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves to protect your hands from the pepper oils, and avoid touching your eyes.
Cut the cleaned chile peppers into small pieces and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.
Transfer the toasted chiles to a large pot or bowl, cover with hot water, and place a lid on top to trap the steam. Let them sit for 20 minutes to soften and rehydrate. (If using a bowl, a large plate can serve as a lid.)
Once the peppers are soft, use tongs to transfer them to a blender with 2 cups of stock. Secure the lid with a kitchen towel to prevent splattering, and blend the mixture, starting on low speed and gradually increasing until smooth. Set the blended chiles aside for later.
Make Chili
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bottom of a deep Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add about half of the beef cubes in one layer and cook, without moving them, until the underside looks well browned, about 5 minutes.
Stir and brown a second side. You do not need to brown all sides of the beef cubes; two sides are plenty. When at least two sides of the beef cubes look well browned, transfer them to a bowl and repeat with the remaining beef cubes, adding more oil as needed.
If the pot is dry, add a teaspoon or more vegetable oil. Add the onions and peppers and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, cinnamon stick, cumin, allspice, and cayenne pepper (optional), then cook for one more minute.
Add the browned beef, blended chile peppers, and the remaining 4 cups of stock to the pot with onions and spices. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pot to lift any bits of stuck onion or beef.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer.
Partially cover the pot with its lid and cook until the beef is undeniably tender, 2 ½ to 3 hours. If you notice the chili is getting too dry while braising, add another cup of stock or water and reduce the heat a little.
Mix a tablespoon of masa harina with 3 tablespoons of water into a smooth paste and stir it into the chili. If you are using corn tortillas instead of the masa paste, tear the tortillas into small pieces and stir them into the chili. After a minute or so, the tortillas will disintegrate into the chili.
Take the chili off the heat, taste, and season to taste. If the chili needs more pop, add more salt, a splash of apple cider vinegar, or a bit of brown sugar.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Spicy chili: As written, this chili is not that spicy. There’s a little heat, but I’d put it in the mild category. To add extra spice, stir in cayenne pepper or chipotle pepper powder (I’d start with 1/4 teaspoon and add from there as the heat can build quickly). You can also add hot chili peppers to the chili paste (Arbol or Cascabel peppers are my favorite). One to two dried chili peppers should do it, and you can treat them in the same way as the other peppers called for in the recipe.
- Can I add beans? While beans are not typical in Texas chili, you can add beans to this chili. If you plan to add them, add cooked or drained canned beans when the chili is close to being done. This way, they will pick up some flavor but won’t break down too much.
- Seasoning the chili: Do your best to season with salt as you go, but if you find that your chili needs more of a pop when it’s finished cooking, you can stir in more salt, 1 to 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, a pinch of brown sugar, or if you are okay with something not authentic, a few dashes of fish sauce (trust me!).
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.