Spice it up on a cool night

When the night is cool or rainy, nothing can satisfy like a bowl of beef chilli. Try out our Tex-Mex Chilli and see for yourself.

Tex-Mex Chilli

A spicy beef chilli in the traditional tex-mex style

Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Tex-Mex
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Bruce Heck

Ingredients

  • 750 gm beef mince 10-15% fat
  • 2 medium onions chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed; large cloves
  • 2 green peppers optional; sweet peppers, not chilli peppers!
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil or other vegetable oil
  • 2 cans red kidney beans (400gm can)
  • 1 can black beans (400gm can)
  • 3 cans chopped tomatoes (400gm can)
  • 100 gm tomato puree (double concentrate)
  • 60 ml cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 4 tbsp mild chilli powder ** see notes
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika
  • 2 beef stock cubes
  • ¼ tsp black pepper finely ground
  • 150 ml sour cream optional
  • 50 gm sliced jalapeño peppers optional; use pickled jalapeño, not fresh

Instructions

  1. Put the oil, onions and garlic (and green peppers if using) in the stock pot over a medium high heat and saute until softened. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  2. Put the beef mince in the pot and brown thoroughly. Add the onions and garlic to the mince and stir.

  3. Add all of the dry spices and the stock cubes and stir thoroughly.

  4. Add the vinegar, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Rinse the cans of tomato with a bit of water in each can and combine to make one can full of water. Add to the chilli and stir.

  5. Drain the beans in a colander and rinse. Add the beans (and the jalapeños if using) to the chilli and mix thoroughly.

  6. Simmer the chilli over a medium low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

  7. Serve in bowls with a large dollop of sour cream on top.

Recipe Notes

The ingredients listed as ‘optional’ can be added or not according to your preference — we always add them.  You can make the chilli less spicy by reducing the amount of mild chilli powder you use and by omitting the jalapeño peppers.

Pimp your chilli:

Want to mix it up a little?  Try these optional ingredients:

Add 25gm of finely grated dark chocolate.  This will add an extra richness to the chilli — you’ll never taste the chocolate!

Substitute an equal amount of chopped rump steak for the beef mince for a different texture.  You’ll need to add an extra hour of simmering time to make the steak fall apart tender — and stir regularly to prevent sticking.

Like things a bit smokey?  Add (or substitute) a tablespoon of chipotle or ancho chilli powder to the chilli.

And we like to serve the chilli with a batch of cornbread.  (Check out our cornbread recipe:  http://heckofadish.com/2017/03/17/cornbread/#more-70)

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