Texas chili is distinguished from other chilis by two things. One, it must be made with whole pieces of beef, no ground meat here. Two, it must not have beans. Our Texas chili recipe features smoky and spicy chipotle peppers, as well as the bitter addition of unsweetened cocoa powder. Chocolate is an influence from south of the border where it is prominently used in molé, a tomato and chili-based sauce. The chocolate adds a subtle richness and depth of flavor to the chili, which is also complemented by the cinnamon. Our corn bread recipe takes advantage of Suvie’s low and slow cooking to make a corn pudding hybrid that still has the characteristic crumble.
Texas Chili and Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chuck beef
- ½ cup tomato puree
- 3 chipotle adobo peppers in sauce, diced
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp salt
Directions
1) Cut the beef against the grain into thin strips, about 2 inches long. In a Suvie pan, stir together the beef, tomato puree, diced chipotle peppers, cumin, paprika, oregano, cocoa powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and cinnamon in a Suvie pan. Add 1 cup beef broth and stir to combine.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, and honey until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and 1 tsp salt. Add the dry components to the wet, whisking until smooth.
3) Fold in the frozen corn kernels and then transfer batter to a greased Suvie pan.
4) Insert both pans into Suvie, input settings, and cook now or schedule.
Suvie Cook Settings
Bottom Zone: Slow Cook Low for 4 hours
5) After cooking, remove the cornbread and chili from Suvie.
6) Stir the chili to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the cornbread into squares. Serve the chili with sour cream and sliced scallions, and the cornbread with butter.
Wine Pairing
Chili works best when paired with robust and muscular wines. New world wines like Malbec and Shiraz should fit the bill nicely. These wines have a good balance of tannins and body and will bring out the rich umami notes of the chili.
