New Way for Chili

[Al Dente]

So, I am usually a fresh onion, peppers, and garlic guy for my chili.  But I have been wondering about the competition chili, where there are no fresh vegetables at all.  The guys usually do the dump method, up to three times during their cook.  Meaning, they dump in a premixed blend of spices.

I decided to try it.  In my spice grinder I added all of spices, in addition to peppers, hot peppers, garlic, and onion that I dehydrated myself.

First off, I don't "sear" the meat.  Unless you are frying it in deep fat, it is not searing, it only faintly gets color, more often it just boils in it's own myoglobin juice.  The meat browns while it's braising in the oven.

I add some beef tallow to the pot, then warm my "dump" in it, to bloom and wake them up.  Then I add in my meat, some worcestershire sauce, and crushed or pureed tomatoes.  Give a good stir, then into a 375 oven for about 4-5 hours until the meat is tender.  I stir it every hour, and the last 2 hours, I take the cover off, so the sauce can reduce, and meat browns.  Final step is a bit chocolate to balance out the flavors and season with salt.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised how good it was.  I didn't miss the little bits of vegetables at all, and it saved me the time of chopping and then cleaning the board and knife.