Many moons ago, Doc asked me to post my recipe for chili. I've been pretty generous with my recipes here on this blog, but I couldn't part with the intellectual property that is my chili recipe.
Yes, I actually own a piece or two of intellectual property. But I digress.
Here, after all these moons, is Phili's Phamous Chili recipe. As usual, t = teaspoon and T = tablespoon
Spices*:
- 1/3 cup chili powder
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t cumin
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 1/2 t paprika
- 1/2 t ground mustard
- 1/4 t crushed red pepper
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper
- 1/4 t sage
- 1/4 t garlic powder
Other ingredients:
- 2.5 quarts of canned fresh tomatoes (I've never used store-bought canned tomatoes for this recipe)
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1/8 cup vinegar
- One pound of dry pinto beans, washed and cooked
- 1 cup of diced fresh onion
I combine the tomatoes and the spices into a large pot and stir until the spices are dissolved. Then I add the beans, the vinegar, and the onion. Lastly, I add the raw ground beef directly to the chili. I put the chili over medium heat, cover, and cook for about an hour (long enough to cook the meat), stirring occasionally.
The result is a medium to mild chili that has always been a hit at parties and tailgates. Even my wife, who is not too fond of spicy food, loves it. Not only is it good as a bowl of chili per-se, but the leftovers are great for chili dogs.
When I've felt spicy, I've added cayenne pepper sauce, fresh hot peppers (cayennes, for example), or tabasco sauce to make the chili hotter. But, usually, I just go with the recipe as given above.
*I make this recipe so often that I have made a big container of the chili spice mix listed above. Nowadays I just add 1/3 heaping cup of my chili mix to the other ingredients.