I recently joined the thousands who have added a "slow cooker" to their arsenal of kitchen tools. For those not in the know, a slow cooker is a utensil that is a "plug in". It allows one to basically throw all the ingredients of a slow-cooking dish into the crockpot, close the lid, set to low and forget about until back home from work to find a comforting, delicious and tender meal ready to serve your family.
A slow cooker is an alternative to braising or the more traditional crockpot (or dutch oven) cooking done on your stove top or oven. I suspect the slowcooker saves one from using the oven all day and thus saving on electricity.
I was a little disappointed by the lack of inspired slow-cooker recipes out there (internet). Most are generic recipes that are provided by manufacturers of slow cookers and many of them are bland.
I've made two dishes so far and the first quick lesson I learned is that one does not need much water in the recipe. A slow cooker's lid is on during the whole cooking process which renders moisture from the meat and vegetables. As a rule of thumb, I think a 1/2 cup of liquid is suffice when slow cooking a family sized meal.
When I bought the slow cooker, I knew that Chili con Carne would be a natural for the slow cooker. As a blogger, I also knew that my chili would probably get lost amongst the parade of chili dishes also being prepared by others and adding to the loud din of chili on the internet.
Before I go further let me state that I've never stepped on Texas soil and nor have I had a Texan make me a chili before. Here in North America, chili has been eaten by the majority of people and it's a kitchen standard in many homes.
It's origins are no doubt from the US/Mexican border region and the food genre is commonly known as Tex-Mex...do not call chili Mexican.
To make my chili stand out, I went for the the Texas version which calls for real pieces of beef, not ground meat. I also cranked the heat up since it's cold outside. Food should be about contrasts, yin & yang. C-c-c-c-cold outside, H-h-h-hot food inside.
I intentionally made this chili spicy but you may certainly tone it down (you spineless jellyfish). I'm a fan of heat but be assured this chili won't blow your head off, espcially when you also have some cheddar cornbread to offset the heat.
Three Alarm Texas Style Chili
3 Tbsp. of sunflower oil
2 lbs. of top sirloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, rough dice
1/2 green bell pepper, rough dice
1/2 red bell pepper, rough dice
3 large cloves of garlic, smashed
2 - 16 oz. cans of tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup of good chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. of ground cumin
1 tsp. of ground coriander
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 - 16oz cans of kidney beans (plus liquid)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- In a large skillet, add your oil and set the heat to high. Season your cubed meat with salt and pepper and brown the meat in batches under medium high heat. Reserve your beef.
- In the same skillet, add some more oil and add your onions, garlic, bayleaf, peppers and saute under medium heat for about 10 minutes to soften. (You may add some water to help deglaze the beef drippings from the previous saute).
- Into your slowcooker, add your diced/chopped cans of tomatoes, the beef, the sauteed vegetables, chili powder, kidney beans, oregano, coriander and chipotle peppers.
- Set your slow cooker to low, cover with the lid and simmer for at least 5 hours. After, check the seasoning and adjust seasoning with salt. If the chili is too thin, uncover the slow cooker and allow to simmer in this manner, your chili will thicken.
- Serve with some corn bread and stay warm with this very comforting meal.
