Never had Carrol Shelby's, but I'm partial to *** Kickin' Chili Fixins. It comes with enough heat you can make 2 batches and still have a good amount of kick to it.
I remember buying Shelby's chili bag in the 80s (I think). I haven't seen it for years in our stores. I just figured they stopped making it. I recall it was pretty good. Seems like his had chili powder, some kind of corn starch or flour, cayenne powder, and a bag of "secret" spices.
This recipe has more or less been what my home made chili has evolved into. It's rich and thick and has a lot of spice.
Makes about 6 bowls, takes 5-6 hrs start to finish
- Beef Brisket flat or other cubed meat, 3 to 4 lbs. (about 1/2 of the brisket flat), rubbed with savory rub, seared to medium rare over mesquite charcoal and wood, in a closed Komado (substitute pork, wild game or whatever you like) cubed a little bigger than the size of your little toe (1/2 to 3/4 inch).
- 29 oz. can of Hunts tomato sauce (Hunts is the best, ask any self-respecting beer swilling chili cookoff chef. But I used Cento tomato paste on this batch and it was a bit on the tomato-ee side, but not bad)
- 1 12 oz. beer (I used Modelo Negra)
- New Mexico Chili 1 oz. package (tastes much different than others)
- California Chili (Gebharts or similar) ½ oz.
- Diced Green Chili 4 oz. (can Ortega mild or roasted Anaheim or Poblano chilis)
- 1 Onion (medium sized) diced and dark caramelized with butter
- Garlic, 2 tablespoons of minced and fried in butter, loosely packed (or just enough to suit your taste).
- 1 teaspoon of garlic salt (I know, you’re thinkin fresh garlic above and the salt below … what’s he thinkin’, I dunno, by now I’d had some of that beer, just put it in)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- cumin (1 teaspoon)
- Paprika ½ teaspoon
- Beef suet (I put in a couple ounces of suet from the clarified broth of a pot roast.)
- Broth (I put in about ¼ cup of broth from pot roast)
- Bacon (I put in about a strip of smoked bacon or two, diced and fried crisp first)
- cloves (a few in a spice bag or a pinch of ground clove) on this batch. Go easy or leave it out.
Combine all the above ingredients in a large pot and start it to simmerin. Don't forget the meat juices. Simmer for at least a couple of hours, 3 hours is better. Tough meat (brisket) will take 3 hrs minimum, 4hrs is better) You can add beer or water to keep it a bit thin, not too soupy, for the simmerin to keep it from burnin.
The following ingredients are optional
- Pinto beans - A 29 oz can, rinsed works about right for this recipe. Add it after the flour below, when the chili is about done cookin. If you use fresh beans, cook ahead of adding.
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (hold off puttin this in til you taste this mess after its half cooked)
- 3-6 fire roasted Jalapenos to suit your temperature preference (canned Ortega or La Victoria jar or fresh roasted)
- If you need to thicken it, add the flour mix below and simmer another hour or two.
- ½ cup of flour (add the flour to a cup of hot water a little at a time to desolve it to a smooth cream ‘fore you put it in just in the last hour of cookin). You can leave this out altogether or use just a little to thicken up this pot of chili to suit you. I think it gives the chili a little body that the tomato base can't quite produce. A little goes a long way. (I used about a 1/3 cup of the thick slurry on this batch about an hour before it was finished.)
For the Nov 2021 batch, I cubed 1lb 4oz of slow bbq’d brisket. Also added 15 oz can of pinto beans (not 29 oz as above)
except when I am using it in something like a Bolognese then I grind a very lean cut i.e. sirloin, round, etc. But for burgers unless it's that awful really "hard" fat it stays there and gets ground right up
