Chili con carne

Name: Chili con carne
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 190 min
Total time: 220 min
Yield: 6 bowls
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.2 kg Chuck roast, trimmed, in 2 cm cubes; 8 piece Dried chilli, 4 ancho and 4 guajillo, stemmed and seeded; 0.5 tsp Cayenne pepper, or 1 or 2 dried chiles de árbol, for heat; 2 tbsp Lard, or neutral oil; 1 large Onion, finely chopped; 6 clove Garlic, minced; 1 tbsp Cumin, ground, ideally from toasted seeds; 2 tsp Oregano, dried, Mexican if you can get it; 750 ml Beef stock, hot; 2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Black pepper; 2 tbsp Masa harina, mixed with 60 ml water; 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar, to finish

Texas-style bowl of red: cubed beef chuck simmered for hours in a sauce of toasted dried chillies, cumin and garlic. No beans, no tomato.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 3 hr 10 min
Rest: None
Total: 3 hr 40 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Medium heat
Cost: A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

This is the Texas version, the bowl of red. Beef chuck is cut into small cubes rather than minced, browned hard in lard, then simmered for nearly three hours in a sauce of dried ancho and guajillo chillies that have been toasted, soaked and blended smooth. Cumin, garlic and oregano are the only other strong flavours. A spoon of masa harina at the end thickens it and adds a faint tortilla taste. There are no beans and no tomatoes, which is the point: it should taste of beef and chilli. Make it a day ahead if you can. It is better the next day.

What you'll need

13 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 13 ready

6 servings

Ingredients

Servings

Chuck roast, trimmed, in 2 cm cubes1.2 kg
Dried chilli, 4 ancho and 4 guajillo, stemmed and seeded8
Cayenne pepper, or 1 or 2 dried chiles de árbol, for heat2½ ml
Lard, or neutral oil30 ml
Onion, finely chopped1 large
Garlic, minced6 clove
Cumin, ground, ideally from toasted seeds15 ml
Oregano, dried, Mexican if you can get it9.9 ml
Beef stock, hot750 ml
Salt9.9 ml
Black pepper4.9 ml
Masa harina, mixed with 60 ml water30 ml
Apple cider vinegar, to finish (optional)4.9 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Toast the dried chillies in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 20 to 30 seconds a side, until they soften and smell. Put them in a bowl, pour over 500 ml of the hot stock and leave 20 minutes, then blend chillies and stock to a smooth purée.
25 min
Watch: Burnt chillies make the whole pot bitter. Take them off as soon as they smell toasty.
Step 2
Season the beef with the salt and pepper. Heat the lard in a heavy pot over high heat and brown the beef in three batches, about five minutes each, until dark on at least two sides. Lift each batch out onto a plate.
15 min
Step 3
Turn the heat to medium, add the onion to the fat and cook for six or seven minutes until soft. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano and cayenne and stir for a minute.
8 min
Step 4
Return the beef and its juices, pour in the chilli purée and the remaining 250 ml stock, and bring to a simmer. Partly cover and cook on the lowest heat for 2.5 to 3 hours, stirring every half hour and adding a splash of water if it gets too thick, until the beef crushes against the side of the pot with a spoon.
165 min
Step 5
Stir in the masa harina slurry and simmer uncovered for ten minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy. Taste for salt, sharpen with the vinegar if it tastes flat, and skim off some of the red fat or stir it back in, as you like.
10 min
Step 6
Serve in bowls with chopped raw onion, grated cheddar and saltine crackers on the side, or cool it and reheat the next day.
2 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 245 kcal
Protein: 9.7 g
Carbs: 35.9 g
Fat: 7.7 g
Saturated fat: 1.9 g
Fibre: 7 g
Sugar: 10.2 g
Sodium: 1216 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.

Dairy-free
Gluten-free
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Whole ancho and guajillo chillies → 4 tbsp pure ground ancho chilli
Use pure chilli, not a chili powder blend. Bloom it in the fat with the cumin. Quicker, with less depth.
Masa harina → Fine cornmeal
Keeps the corn note. A flour slurry thickens just as well but tastes of nothing.

Tips

Push the chilli purée through a sieve if your blender leaves bits of skin. The sauce comes out silkier.
For the version most of the country makes, add a 400 g tin of tomatoes with the stock, and two drained 400 g tins of kidney or pinto beans for the last 30 minutes. Texans will call it something else.
It freezes well for three months.

History & culture

Chili is game-day food, cook-off food and cold-weather food. Texas made it the official state dish in 1977, and the cook-offs at Terlingua, out in the desert, have run since 1967. Outside Texas most chili has beans and tomatoes and often minced beef, and in Cincinnati it is spiced with cinnamon and served over spaghetti. Saltine crackers on the side are common to all of them.

Chili belongs to Texas, not Mexico, where it is largely disowned. By the 1880s the chili queens of San Antonio were selling it from stalls in its plazas, until health rules shut them down by the 1940s. William Gebhardt of New Braunfels began selling chili powder in the 1890s, which let the dish travel. Older stories about cattle drives or Canary Islander settlers are told more often than proved.

Traditional — Texas bowl-of-red rules: cubed beef, dried chillies, no beans, little or no tomato. The beans-and-tomato chili most Americans cook at home is a legitimate dish of its own, and the tips show how to turn this into it. It is spelled chili in the United States and chilli in British English, and either way it is not a Mexican dish.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Chili con carne take?

3 hr 40 min all in — 30 min prep, 3 hr 10 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Medium heat.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free.

What does it cost to cook?

A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

7 more questions

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Blender, Dutch oven, Chef's knife, Cutting board.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.

What can I use instead?

Whole ancho and guajillo chillies → 4 tbsp pure ground ancho chilli. Use pure chilli, not a chili powder blend. Bloom it in the fat with the cumin. Quicker, with less depth. Masa harina → Fine cornmeal. Keeps the corn note. A flour slurry thickens just as well but tastes of nothing.

What should I watch for?

Burnt chillies make the whole pot bitter. Take them off as soon as they smell toasty.

Any tips from this recipe?

Push the chilli purée through a sieve if your blender leaves bits of skin. The sauce comes out silkier. For the version most of the country makes, add a 400 g tin of tomatoes with the stock, and two drained 400 g tins of kidney or pinto beans for the last 30 minutes. Texans will call it something else. It freezes well for three months.

Can I prepare this ahead?

Serve in bowls with chopped raw onion, grated cheddar and saltine crackers on the side, or cool it and reheat the next day.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.