Recipe Beef Chili

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Whenever I make chili, cumin plays a significant role. I like being able to taste it, and this preparation was going to be no different than past occasions...except that I couldn't find the cumin. I have a massive container somewhere...some reorganizing was done recently (not by me), and this seems to be a casualty. Rather than going out and getting more, I substituted coriander. I roasted them in the pot first, then ground them. The result was really good, but I missed the cumin. Maybe I'll mix the two next time.

As for the use of canned tomatoes, I've tried making chili using fresh tomatoes, and it's really no better. Actually, the canned tomatoes are more consistently right for a chili, whereas fresh tomatoes need to really be ripe, otherwise the flavor isn't as good. I always have onion, peppers, canned tomatoes and beans on hand, so I'm generally just a protein away from making a chili on any given day.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons coriander seeds
3 strips thick-cut bacon
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano powder
20 ounces ground beef
4 cups canned beans (2 cans, mixed variety)
28 ounce can diced tomatoes (or any canned tomatoes that you chop up later)
3 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon salt, adjusted to taste

Directions

1. Heat a large pot to medium temperature. Roast coriander seeds in the pan for no more than a minute, moving the pan constantly to prevent burning. Grind the seeds and set aside.

2. Chop the bacon into small pieces and render the fat in the bottom of the pot. Add onion and peppers and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add garlic to an open spot at the bottom of the pot; sauté while stirring continuously for 1 minute. Fold in spices and allow to cook for 1 more minute.

3. Add ground beef to the pot and stir in thoroughly. Continue stirring and breaking up large pieces until all sides are partly browned, a few minutes.

4. Add tomatoes, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen up bits of the beef as needed.

5. Add stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook with cover off for 30 minutes or until reduced to desired consistency. Add salt as needed to taste.