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Approx 1 hour prep time. 2 to 24 hours cooking time. Please note that it won’t fit in a 5 quart crock pot without letting it reduce (boil down) overnight. If you buy the Shredded Beef, make sure you let it cook at least 3 hours — 6 or 1 2 hours is even better. (I start it the day before and let it cook all night.)
This recipe is courtesy of Mike “Brutus” Dratch, former Chili Director at Elect ro-Sport. I have been tinkering with it ever since 1987…
Brown these three ingredients with a little oil in a pan or two. 4-6 lbs Chuck roast. Chop it up into little bite-size pieces. I am now a firm believer in buying the “Shredded Beef” at your supe rmarket butcher counter. (Cook as long as possible, like 6 hou rs or more.) Another alternative is to ask for the coarse “chi li” grind; not all butcher counters will be able to do this. 1 TB or more Garlic powder. Or a dozen or so cloves of fresh garlic. I usually just shake in more garlic powder (or fresh garlic from a jar) each time I put more meat in the pan. 1 Medi um onion, dice into small pieces. I’ve been using red onions l ately.
Drain off the fat, then mix EVERYTHING in your pot: 16 oz can of ste wed tomatoes. (A 14.5 oz can will do.) Last time around I used an 8 oz can of Mexican-style and an 8 oz can of Italian-style . 2-3 cup beef broth. We used 2 cans of Campbell’s, but you could use bouillon. 1 pkg brown gravy mix 4 TB Ca jun Seasoning. (Recipe originally called for 1 oz California o r New Mexico chili powder; New Mexico chili powder will make t he chili very spicy hot.) 2 TB ground Cumin. You’ll find cumin and chili powder in the Mexican section, it’s often cheaper that w ay. 1 TB Oregano or Italian Spices. 1 tsp black pepper 1 TB Paprika. This is mostly for color. 1 beer Any kind. I used Coors “Cutter” most recently. 1 TB brown sugar 7 oz
can diced green chilis. This is the larg! ! er of Ortega’s two can sizes. 1 tsp dry mustard 6-1 0 yellow chili peppers. They come in a bottle. Cut off the stems, squeeze out most of the seeds, dice them up and throw them in. I used 8 last time around. 1 TB vinegar. We used t he vinegar from the chili pepper bottle (above). 1 juice of a lime. Recipe originally called for 1 TB lime or lemon juice.
Cook all this for at least two hours over a low fire.
If it’s not thick enough, thicken it with flour or cornstarch (we used flour); if needs to be thinned, add water or beer.
The yellow chili peppers are optional. Obviously, all of these ingredients can be varied to taste. Brutus suggests getting a bottle of hot sauce, such as Tapa tio or Louisiana Hot Sauce for those who like it a little spicy. (We got Red De vil La. Hot Sauce, but I didn’t use it myself.) Also diced onions and/or shredd ed cheese on top is good. (I put some cheddar on top every time.)
Brute Force Chili can trace its origin back to a chili cook-off winner printe d in a newspaper long ago. The current evolution is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser , and can be made as hot & spicy as you like it. “As is” it’s a good tasty chi li, made for rolling up in tortillas with lots of cheese and whatever else you like to eat your chili with. It should cook for at least 3 hours, 6 hours or o vernight if you can spare the time. The longer it cooks, the more tender it ge ts, however you may get tired of the smell after a day of cooking it. When it’ s been cooking long enough, the meat gets so tender the chunks are literally fa lling apart. It’s good, though.
“Chili” Baden, Institute for Chili Studies, Box 1792, Redondo Beach CA 90278
Busted by Christopher E. Eaves <cea260@airmail.net>