Chop up:
• Carrots
• Onions
• Garlic
• Red pepper
• 3-4 different kinds of chili (Habanero, Jalapenos + 1-2 more strength depending on audience)
• Spanish Chorizo Sausage
• Smoked Bacon
Find and prepare the following spices:
• Crushed Cumin
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne (Main ingredient)
• Oregano
• Dark Cocoa Powder (used to fatten the dish with the cayenne – if making children friendly more of this and less cayenne for adults the other way around)
Also prepare:
• Tomato Puré (1 little can per 1 kg beef)
• Minced Beef (1kg for 4 people)
• Red Kidney Beans (2 cans per 1kg beef – remember to wash them intensively to get away the can taste)
• 1 glass of water (around 25 cl per 1 kg beef)
The cooking:
Now you start up a big casserole and add the carrots, onions, garlic + smoked paprika, smoked bacon and a little cayenne pepper and some of the chilis.
Let it fry off a bit so the red spices gives off some taste and the bacon gets a little crisp.
Add the minced beef and keep stirring it if you just let it sit it will cook and not fry and you don’t release the umami taste notes from the beef.
Add salt and pepper.
Once the beef is colored and preferably showing a bit of light brown charring add in the tomato puré, crushed cumin (be careful for 1 kg beef no more than 1-2 teaspoons) chopped chili’s, chopped red peppers and add the water.
Now let it simmer for a good hour its important it doesn’t burn but the heat has to be high enough for it to visible bobbles – and now comes the trick.
To make the dish more firm and work in the spices and the important texture that a chili con carne needs around every 5 minutes sprinkle over dried oregano, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper – once or twice in the hour add in the cocoa powder also.
Its important just to sprinkle it over and then let the watery bobbles slowly “eat” the spices and get more firm and with a better texture.
After the 1 hour simmering time add in the red kidney beans and the chorizo sausages give it a good stir and do one final sprinkle of red cayenne pepper and let it work 15-20 minutes.
Notice you can extend the simmering period from 1 hour to 3-4-5-6 hours depending on the heath etc. the final meal will only improve with the time you give it – however if you do remember to match the water you add so that the dish can consume the water while its being prepared.
At the end you want a firm chili con carne that can be served in wraps or taco shells or with nachos with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top.
Some people prefer to eat their chili con carne with rice and served with salads, guacamole etc. – I really don’t but taste is individual.
Having a burning time 😊
Ps. Personally i always put Carolina Reapers in the dish as well, but it is not for children or people with a weak constitution ;)