Texas-Style Beef Chili

About This Recipe

Texas chili is defined as much by what it excludes as what it includes — no beans, and typically no tomatoes either, with the focus placed entirely on tender beef and a complex, layered chile flavor built from scratch. Dried ancho and guajillo chiles are rehydrated and blended into a smooth paste, forming the sauce's backbone, a technique that gives far more depth than simply stirring in commercial chili powder. Cubed beef chuck braises low and slow in this chile sauce for hours until completely tender, the sauce thickening naturally as it reduces, resulting in a chili that's thick, deeply savory and unmistakably Texan in its bean-free simplicity.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1.2 kgbeef chuck(cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 4dried ancho chiles(stemmed and seeded)
• 2dried guajillo chiles(stemmed and seeded)
• 3 cupsbeef stock(divided)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 1 tbspmasa harina or cornmeal(for thickening)

Instructions

1. 1

   Rehydrate the chiles

   Toast the dried chiles briefly in a dry pan, then soak in 1.5 cups hot beef stock for 20 minutes until soft.

2. 2

   Blend the chile paste

   Blend the softened chiles with their soaking liquid until completely smooth.

3. 3

   Brown the beef

   Heat oil in a heavy pot and brown the beef cubes in batches, about 12 minutes total; remove and set aside.

4. 4

   Cook the onion

   Cook onion in the same pot until soft, then add garlic, cumin and oregano, cooking 1 minute.

5. 5

   Combine

   Return the beef to the pot with the chile paste, remaining beef stock and salt.

   Blend the rehydrated chiles until completely smooth — any large fibrous pieces left behind will give the finished chili an unpleasant, stringy texture.

6. 6

   Simmer

   Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low 90-100 minutes until the beef is very tender.

7. 7

   Thicken

   Stir in masa harina or cornmeal and simmer uncovered 10-15 more minutes until the chili thickens.

8. 8

   Serve

   Serve hot, with toppings like shredded cheese and onion if desired.

Variations

• •

  Some cooks add a small amount of unsweetened chocolate or coffee for extra depth, a nod to Texas chili's mole-adjacent flavors.

• •

  A version with a mix of beef and pork gives a slightly different, richer result.

• •

  Adding beans, while not traditional in Texas, is common and acceptable in many home kitchens outside the state.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days in an airtight container; the flavor deepens considerably the next day, and it freezes well for up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions