Recipes #1, 5/26/2008: Spider Cañon Red Chili Recipes

Home Food Store White Chili Condiments Library

We've tested and proven these recipes over time; we can recommend them all without reservation. There are usually several ways to do anything. It's the same way with our Spider Cañon recipes. If you're in a hurry; if you want a fast simple meal without a lot of preparation; use our first recipe, below. If you're preparing a meal for a special occasion, or just want a different flavor and appearance, then try our gourmet recipe, farther down.
Remove the seeds; leave the white veins	1 Tbsp. olive oil, canola oil, or lard 1/2-lb. ground beef or ground pork 1/2-cup yellow onion, diced OPTIONAL (but good!) 1/2-cup red/green bell pepper, diced 1/4-cup celery, sliced Jalapeño pepper, diced, (for medium-1/2 pepper; for hot-1 pepper) Remove the seeds from the jalapeños but not the white veins-that's where the heat is. Protect your hands with gloves or kitchen mitts. Dredge the meat in: 1 Tbsp. flour plus 1 Tbsp. corn flour, seasoned Heat the skillet well and add the oil (prevents the meat from sticking.) Add the meat and dredge and brown it. Skim off all the fat when all the water has boiled away. Add the onions, peppers, and celery and saute until they are translucent. Add: 1 can (1-3/4 cups) beans (pinto, kidney, etc., even pork'n'beans) 1/2-cup diced tomatoes AND 1/2 6-oz. can tomato paste or 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce (all tomatoes are optional)⁽¹⁾ OR SUBSTITUTE 1 can beef broth 1 pkg. or more Spider Cañon™ Original Southwest, Cottonwood™, Caribe™ Red, Red Hot™, or Atchafalaya™ chili seasoning OPTIONAL (but good!) 1 tsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. cider vinegar or lime juice 1-2 cups water For Cincinnati-style chili, whisper "cinnamon and allspice" over the pot. Simmer the chili about 20 minutes to an hour, covered, to blend the flavors. Add more water as you cook to adjust the thickness of the chili. Just before serving add: 1/2-tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro or parsley Stir well; return to simmer and serve alone over cornbread, Texas toast, rice, or pasta; especially with diced fresh onion or scallions and jalapeño. This recipe makes three or four generous helpings.	Protect your hands from hot chiles with gloves or mitts. These kitchen mitts are convenient and sturdy, and they don't cost too much. ⁽¹⁾If tomatoes give you trouble, substitute beef broth—you'll like the extra flavor, and you'll never miss the acid from the tomatoes!
Vegetarian Variation	For an equally-flavorful vegetarian version leave out the meat and substitute: 1/2-cup coarse bulgar wheat⁽²⁾ Since the wheat absorbs a lot of moisture as it simmers, be prepared to add a little more water to adjust it to the texture you like.
	All Spider Cañon chili seasonings are blended to perform very well in any basic chili recipe. Just change the type of meat to suit yourself. Simmering blends the flavors and reduces the "canny" quality of the tomatoes. For ground beef or lamb, don't simmer longer than about an hour; simmer chicken, pork, turkey less. For an especially rich chili taste, leave out the tomatoes and substitute beef broth. Can you leave beans out of the brew? Of course! Just make up the diference with an extra half-pound of meat or 1/2-cup bulgar wheat. No problem. For some reason many people are suspicious of chili–they think it's going to be too hot. We blend our chili seasonings like this: Medium-hot: hot enough to give your lips and throat a slight burn, but not enough to scorch you or make you hiccup. If you like hot chili, add 1 packet of our "Make Mine Hotter!™ quick chili rush, but hey–go easy! If you're serving friends offer them some freshly-ground black pepper or some good hot sauce or chopped peppers on the side.	Notes on the Basic Recipe
⁽³⁾Parboiled grains have been completely cooked in their hulls and completely dried. Then they are hulled and processed further. Parboiled grains resist spoiling, contain slightly more vitamins, and cook much faster than whole grains. The texture of cooked, parboiled grains is looser and somewhat drier than ordinary cooked grains.	This chili is specifically for topping hot dogs; it's the best hot dog chili I ever tasted. 1 lb. ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey OR 1/2-lb. ground meat plus 1/4-cup coarse bulgar wheat⁽²⁾ 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped OPTIONAL (but good!) 1/2-cup celery, finely chopped 1/2-cup bell pepper, finely chopped 1 small jalapeño pepper, finely diced 1-1/2-cup water 1/2 6-oz. can tomato paste OR 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce OR 1 can beef broth 2 tsp. cider vinegar 2 tsp dark brown sugar 1 pkg. Spider Cañon™ Red Hot™, Original Southwest, or Caribe™ red chili seasoning 1/2-tsp. salt Brown the meat until all the water boils away leaving only the meat and fat. As the meat browns, keep working it with a fork until it is crumbled very fine. Skim off all the fat you can. Add the bulgar wheat and continue to brown the mixture. Add the vegetables and sauté until the onions and celery are translucent. Add the broth or water, and the salt and vinegar. Stir in the tomato paste and the chili seasoning. Simmer slowly for about 30 minutes. Add extra water if you like your chili a little soupy. If you'll be eating right away, add your wieners to the chili and cook them together.	⁽²⁾Bulgar (or bulghur) wheat is parboiled⁽³⁾ whole wheat, cracked, sifted, and sorted into varying grades of coarseness. It is low in calories and fat and high in fiber and vitamins, and it cooks quickly. It's a great food with a cooked texture a little like ground beef, so it's easy to use as a meat supplement or substitute in this recipe. For more see *Sunnyland Mills. Find bulgar wheat in grocery stores and health food stores; but also look in Mediterranean, Indian, or Asian food stores, where it is much* lower in price (and the stores are much more interesting).
The Statistics	This recipe makes about 32 oz., or eight 4-oz. servings, about 150 calories each (3 Weight Watchers® points). Made with the wheat substitute, about 125 calories, 2 points.
	Serve hot over a steamed hot dog and bun with a smear of mayonnaise and topped with lots of fresh chopped onion and maybe a little warm kraut. Can you eat just one? With an ordinary bun and wiener This dog has about 10 Weight-Watchers™ points! A little on the hefty side. Try this as a healthier alternative: use a whole-wheat lite bun, a Ball Park™ fat-free beef wiener, and Red Hot™ meat/wheat chili. Same great flavor, only 4 Weight-Watchers™ points! Hey! You could have two! What an improvement.	Serving Suggestions
	Spider Cañon Gourmet Chili So what's gourmet? For us it's something a little more robust, with flavors a little more developed, with interesting textures; something a little special that transcends chili routine. Spider Cañon™ chili seasoning is still the same, the best we've ever tasted; the "gourmet" is in the other ingredients and the preparation. In our gourmet recipe, almost everything is optional. We've reduced or removed tomatoes and have concentrated on meat, chiles, onions, and the chili seasoning. The result, is elegant and classically simple. Hey, I'll let the recipe speak for itself: 2 strips bacon 1 lb. beef or pork, ground, cubed, or cut large 1/2- to 1 cup red bell pepper or pimiento, diced 1/2- to 1 cup yellow onion, diced or in chunks OPTIONAL: 1/4-cup celery, diced 1 pkg. Spider Cañon™ Southwest, Cottonwood™, Caribe Red™, or Atchafalaya™ chili seasoning OPTIONAL (but good!): 1/2-can (3 ozs.) tomato paste OR 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce 1/2-cup diced tomato 2 ozs. red wine 3/4- to 1-1/2-cup beef broth or water 1 tsp. salt Dredge for the meat: 1 rounded Tbsp. masa harina (optional) 1 rounded Tbsp. wheat flour ground black pepper salt Trim and discard all the gristle and the largest pieces of fat from the meat and render it, with the bacon, in a hot skillet or pot until you have about two Tbsps. of hot fat. Dredge the meat and sear it uncovered. Continue to turn and cook the meat until is browned and any liquid it gives off has almost entirely boiled away. Save the unused dredge for thickener, if you'd like. Remove the meat. Add the vegetables and saute until the onion is transparent. Add the liquids and the chili seasoning and stir. Return the meat and the bacon to the skillet. When the chili returns to a boil, reduce the heat to just simmering and cook for two or three hours, covered, stirring frequently. Even better, put the chili in a crock pot and cook it for about six to eight hours on "low." About an hour before serving (two hours for the crock pot), remove the cover and add about half of the salt. Just before serving, add the remaining salt, taste, and season to taste. Try to keep it just on the light side of salty. Add fresh parsley or cilantro as a garnish.
	In this recipe you can even leave the meat whole, large. We've used steaks, chops, ribs, boneless and bone-in, pork, beef. They were all good, but probably the ribs have been the best. Even the onions and peppers can go. The emphasis would be on the meat. It's chili blasphemy! We can hear the good ol' boys in Catron County cussing them pesky Easterners and checking their pieces. Serve the chili on plates, not bowls, maybe over Texas toast, cornbread, rice, or pasta, and with fresh diced onions or green onions on the side; maybe also some more fresh parsley or cilantro. Please, if you like beans, serve them on the side, not in the brew (see the recipe adjustment, below). Give each guest several large chunks of meat and ladle a little sauce on them for flavor. The action here is in the meat–just treat it as if it were fine steak or roast.	Notes on the Gourmet Recipe
Comments	It's your chili, you can make it any way you want, but here are a few recommendations: Use at least one ounce of chili seasoning for each pound of trimmed meat/beans. It should be very fresh if you want the clean, fresh taste of great chili. Keep your chili seasoning fresh by freezing it. Do without or minimize tomatoes to no more than about half the weight of the meat. If you use canned tomatoes, simmer the chili longer to smooth out the flavors. Slow cooked chili is great, but you can cook it too long. Ground meats cook to death very easily; cut meats take longer. In a skillet, cook no more than about two hours. About six to eight hours on "low" is right for crock pot chili made with cuts of meat–go by the tenderness of the meat. This long cooking mellows the harshness of hot chiles in your brew. It will still be there, but without that throat-scratchy edge. Use the unused dredge for thickener, add it dry with the vegetables; but if you've used enough chili powder you shouldn't have to use any thickener. The best thickener is simmering the last hour uncovered.

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