A couple of weeks ago Dan and I headed south to Texas to meet up with some friends, do a little quail hunting (thank you Jim and Pam), and to escape the less than desirable winter temperatures. The hunting was great and dog Shiner, quickly became a quail hunting aficionado. The snow caught up with us a week after our arrival, as we were headed back up to the NE part of New Mexico. One of our stops as we headed south, was in San Antonio, were we inquired about the bowl of “Red” listed on the menu at the Pearl restaurant. The waiter proudly informed us that it was real authentic Texas Chili, and that it didn’t have any beans in it. They had also just recently modified/perfected their recipe. We thought we better try it out, and ordered a cup to share. It was delicious, which prompted me to research it as soon as I could. As the waiter stated, the recipes I found for Texas chili were bean-less, and also loaded with onions, and chilies. I learned a few other interesting facts too, including that the chili pepper was not native to this continent. Chili peppers were first brought into New Mexico in 1598, by a Spaniard, named Don Juan de Onate. They soon became a staple throughout the southwest. It was later on around 1723, when Canary Island transplants had settled in San Antonio, that the meat dish first became known. It was like a dish from their homeland, that they made with local peppers, onions, garlic and spices. This became know as a bowl of “Red”. The dish soon became a favorite of the cowboys on the trail, with the camp cook using beef or buffalo, with wild onions, garlic and peppers. Who knew! And according to Lyndon Baines Johnson, chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak, apologetic imitation of the real thing. This, I am not so sure about. After stumbling upon a fabulous grocery store with a specialty Mexican section in San Angelo, I thought I would give it a whirl. I stayed true to the San Antonio recipe using lots of onions, and I have to say the end result was pretty darn good! I hope you enjoy it too. Texas Chili “Red” In addition to the instructions below, I would gather and prep all of the ingredients before starting the process, as I found I needed to stir frequently. I was saved by my friend Kris, acting sous chef and really good stirrer, thanks Kris. I also used a combination of mild chilies and medium hot chilies, as one of the comments I received from fellow grocery shoppers is you can get it too hot. I adjusted the heat to my liking with cayenne pepper. The preparation was easy and the outcome delicious. A great idea for game day! Ingredients: 1 – 3 lb. Wild Idea Buffalo Chuck Roast, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 1/4” pieces 4 – tablespoons olive oil 4– tablespoons butter 1/3 – cup masa/corn flour 2 – tablespoons Mexican oregano 2 – tablespoons cumin 2 – tablespoons Mexican chili powder 1 – tablespoon salt 1 – teaspoon black pepper 3 – Texas sweet onions, about 7 cups 6 – garlic cloves, diced, about 3 tablespoons 2 – cups organic beef broth 2 – cups water 4 – dried Ancho chilies, stems removed, seeded and coarse chopped 6 – dried medium red chilies, stems removed, seeded and coarse chopped 1 – fresh Serrano chili, stem removed, seeded and finely chopped 1 – tablespoon brown sugar …
4 Bean Bison Chili
By Jill O’Brien The last couple of weeks, we have had many visitors; Wild Idea Buffalo customers, old friends, new friends and a handful of Dan’s students. For me that means a lot of time spent in the kitchen. In addition, I am refining recipes for that cookbook that I hope someday will come to fruition. It has been suggested that I blog about the cookbook process. That people would be interested in recipes, what it’s like living with a writer (my Renaissance man) and the happenings on a conservation driven buffalo ranch. Someone else suggested that I check out the “Pioneer Women”, a city journalist that married a rancher (her Marlboro man) and writes about ranch style cooking. I had heard about the “Pioneer Women” first through a friend (a local grass-fed cattle rancher, well educated, traveled and an amazing cook). Most country girls have a like story in their cupboard and are kicking themselves for not capitalizing on it. I perused through the “Pioneer Women” site and found it entertaining. In the section I read, the ingredient second most used was butter. As a dairy farmer’s daughter, I am not afraid to use butter, and believe in whole, real ingredients, but a little butter can go a long way. Over the last few weeks, as I worked my way through some of my recipes, I found myself saying “agh – another head of garlic”! Clearly, my second ingredient. To confirm this, while grocery shopping the other day, I ran into a friend, we greeted in a hug and he said, “You smell like garlic”. “Thanks”, I said, “I could smell like butter – oh, never mind”. I am not certain about blogging or even if I have the patience or talent for it. But – for right now, I am happy to be filling a thermos of Bison Chili, wrapping warm cornbread in a dish towel, sticking a bottle of wine in the picnic basket and heading out the door with Dan and Tootsie, to find our spot on the big, beautiful prairie for opening Dove season. Cheers! Jill