Red Beef Chili

This chili recipe rocks! It does have a kick to it, so be aware. This is one of Bobby Flay's recipes which I got off of foodnetwork.com. This only makes 6 servings, so if you are wanting to serve more than that, or want leftovers for your husband's lunches, I would definitely double it.

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds bottom round beef, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 (12 ounce) bottle dark beer

2 tablespoons finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate

1 large red onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 poblano, seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon seeded and chopped habanero

1 Thai bird chile, seeded and chopped (I couldn't find this, and omitted it)

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon chipotle pepper puree

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

1 tablespoon pasilla chile powder

1 tablespoon cascabel chile powder

1 teaspoon New Mexican chile powder

5 cups homemade chicken stock, or canned low-sodium or water

1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and pureed

2 tablespoons maple syrup, or more, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper and saute until browned on all sides. Sprinkle with the cumin and stir well. Deglaze the pan with the beer and bring to a boil. Stir in the chocolate and cook until beer is almost completely reduced.

In a separate pot, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the onions to the pan and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the poblano, habanero, Thai bird, and jalapeno peppers and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle puree, ancho powder, pasilla powder, cascabel and New Mexican chile powders and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil and boil for 15-20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. Puree with an immersion blender. Add the beef mixture back to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and simmer for 1 hour, or until thick and beef is tender. Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

SO Good!!  This recipe is from Foodnetwork.com.  Recipe is by Angie Ketterman.  The pork came out SO GOOD!  Derrick was very impressed.  It also makes a lot, so you can serve this to a larger group, or save it for later.

For Pork: 
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped 
2 garlic cloves, crushed 
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes 
1 to 2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped 
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves 
4 to 5 pound pork shoulder 
2 teaspoons salt 
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For Tacos: 

24 corn tortillas (I prefer white corn) 

1 small green cabbage, shredded

2 avocados, peeled and thinly sliced

Pickled Red Onions

Sour Cream

Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish 

For Pork:

To the sleeve of a slow cooker add onion, garlic, tomatoes, chipotle peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and cilantro.  Add pork and season with salt and pepper (I seasoned it with a mix of salt, pepper, ancho chili powder, oregano and cayenne). Cover and slow cook on high for 4 to 6 hours until tender.

Remove pork from slow cooker and shred using 2 forks. Toss with 1/2 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker.

To serve, place 1/4 cup of the pork on a tortilla, top with cabbage, avocado, onions, sour cream and cilantro. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Brisket Tamales

This is Guy Fieri's recipe, but I used green chile sauce instead of red because I prefer the flavor.  I also made a couple other changes, for which I changed the recipe below.  These tamales rock!  I like that they do not have lard in them, but still have a great texture-- and they were so easy to make!  You could really use any meat with these, but I really did love the brisket.  Oh, and Derrick wanted me to say that these tamales "are the all-time favorite tamales.  WAY better than the ones I had in Cancun, and better than my employee Dora's."  I don't think they are better than Dora's.  But they are a good second when I am craving her's.

3-Pound Beef Brisket

2 T kosher salt

6 C water, divided

4 T Canola oil

2 Cups enchilada sauce, store-bought (I used Costa Vida's green chile enchilada sauce)

24 Tamale husks

2 cups masa harina (fine corn flour)

3 cups water (approximate)

2 T melted butter

3 t salt

In medium braising pot, simmer beef in salt and 3 cups water for 1 hour or until meat can be shredded with a fork (I ended up cutting up the brisket after an hour and cooking it for another hour before it was shredable).  Shred beef and let it cool completely.

In a medium saute pan, add oil and fry meat for 3 to 5 minutes or until crispy.  Add enchilada sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

Soak husks in water for 30 minutes.

Mix masa, water, butter and salt into a THICK paste.

Apply 5 T of the masa mix into the center of the corn husk.  Cover with plastic wrap and roll into a thin layer.  Add 2 T of the meat to the center.  Roll one edge of the husk over and press masa around the meat.  Peel the husk back from the masa you just rolled over the meat, and bring the other edge over to cover the entire tamale.  Fold end over.

Place a colander in a large pot of boiling water, but do not let the colander touch the water.  Place the tamales in the colander, cover and allow steam to rise to the top.  Steam the tamales for 30-40 minutes, or until ready.

These are great served with the Cilantro Sour Cream.

Cilantro Sour Cream

Thanks Guy Fieri--This is a great variation on sour cream.  I think it would go well with any Mexican dish.  I made it with the Brisket Tamales.

8 oz Sour Cream

2 T chopped cilantro leaves

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lime, juiced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine together and cover with plastic.  place in the refrigerator and let flavors meld for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Mexican Beef Brisket

Found this recipe on Foodnetwork.com (surprise surprise).  Make sure you have a baking dish big enough for all the liquid!

3 1/2 pounds beef brisket

1 T coarse salt

2 t freshly ground pepper

Flour for dredging

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths

2 medium onions, chopped

10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

3 dried chipotle or morita chiles

2 T tomato paste

1 T dried oregano

2 quarts chicken stock

5 bay leaves

Salt to taste

4 scallions for optional garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Sprinkle the brisket with the coarse salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour to coat and shake off any excess.  In a large Dutch oven heat oil over high heat.  Sear the meat until browned on all sides.  Set aside.  Reduce heat to moderate and add the carrots and onions.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute 2 minutes longer.  Return the meat to the pan along with all remaining ingredients except the salt and garnish.  Bring to a boil, cover the pot and transfer to the oven.  Bake for 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat slips off a fork when pierced.  Lift out the brisket and place on a cutting board.  Cover with a damp towel.  Pour the broth with vegetables into a tall container and skim off the layer of fat that rises.  Remove and discard the bay leaves and chiles.  Pour the broth and vegetables into a blender or a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Puree until smooth, add salt to taste and strain.  Reheat the sauce.  Slice the brisket against the grain and arrange on a platter.  Pour the warm sauce over it, sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve.