Recipe from Lisa Fain
Adapted by Alex Witchel
- Total Time
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Rating
- 4(304)
- Notes
- Read community notes
One-Hour Texas Chili can be used for Frito pie. You top either a small open bag of Fritos, or a pile of Fritos on a plate, with this beef chili, grated Cheddar cheese and chopped onions. When served on a plate, some people call it a Straw Hat. —Alex Witchel
Featured in: A Great Big Texas Helping of Home
Learn: How to Make Chili
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 6dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 2dried chipotle chiles, or substitute canned chipotle chiles and forgo soaking them
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil or rendered bacon fat
- 1medium yellow onion, quartered
- 4cloves garlic, chopped
- 2pounds ground beef chuck, preferably coarsely ground passed through the large holes of a grinder only once
- 4dried pequin chiles or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1tablespoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon ground cloves
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt
- pepper
- 2teaspoons masa harina, or as needed
- 2tablespoons lime juice
- Grated Cheddar cheese, for garnish
- Diced onions, for garnish
- Pickled jalapeños, sliced, for garnish
- Sour cream, for garnish
- Fritos, for serving, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
240 calories; 10 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 406 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
In a large heavy skillet, heat the dried ancho and chipotle chiles on medium-high heat about a minute on each side. Turn off the heat, cover the chiles with water and soak them until rehydrated, about 30 minutes.
Step
2
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or other large pot over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or bacon fat. Add the onions and sauté until they start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Transfer to a blender.
Step
3
Form the ground beef into balls the size of marbles. Return the Dutch oven to medium heat, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or bacon fat and, when it is hot, add the meatballs. Stir occasionally until lightly browned, about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Step
4
Drain the chiles well, and remove and discard stems and seeds. Add the chiles to the blender. Add the canned chipotles, if using, pequin chiles or cayenne, cumin, oregano, cloves, cinnamon and 1 cup water. Blend until smooth. Add to the Dutch oven with the browned meatballs along with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step
5
Adjust salt and pepper to taste. If the chili looks too thin, slowly stir in the masa harina. Add the lime juice, and simmer for 15 minutes more. Serve topped with grated cheese, diced onions, pickled jalapeños and sour cream. Or serve as Frito pie: For each serving, mound 1 cup Fritos in a bowl and top with 1 cup chili, ¼ cup grated cheese, 1 tablespoon diced onions, sliced jalapeños and sour cream.
Ratings
4
out of 5
304
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Bernice Glenn
Note: no tomatoes. This recipe is closer to real Texas chile than any of the others in the NYT collection. My preference for the beef is to use very small diced meat pieces instead of the coarsely ground beef, and add hot chiles to your taste.
Serve with pinto peans cooked with a chunk of smoked pork fatback.
DaveT
This was terrific! - tho it was a bit more work than the title suggests. I accidentally upped the cayenne to 1/2 tsp, which only added rather mild heat. In the pot it seemed a little bland, like it needed a LOT of salt. I stopped at 2 - 1/2 tsp when I realized (correctly) the Fritos would also provide seasoning. I'd definitely make again and I suspect leftovers for lunch at work will be even better the next day.
J.
A better title for this recipe is slightly spicy beef. As others have noted this recipe lacks flavor. Rehydrated chiles and a tablespoon of cumin aren't enough for 2lbs of beef
Damian
This is delicious! I used the water that the chiles rehydrated in. I used ground beef and broke it up into a very rough crumble instead of forming it into meatballs -- much less time consuming.
note
I used a few different types of chilis, coriander, half the beef, and 3 cans of tomatoes
Jeff K.
Too spicy! I used a 7 oz can of "La Morena" brand chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you are spice sensitive, use half the chipotle and don't add cayenne. If you have ancho pepper powder, 17 g is about 1 ancho pepper. You don't need to soak the peppers for more than 10-12 minutes before blending and can simplify things by only adding 1 cup of water, heating it up in the pan and covering the pan.
Meh
I added a tablespoon of honey at the end to counteract some bitterness. The Fritos, cheese, sour cream, and onions help as well. But ultimately it’s just meatballs with a sauce. Like an underdeveloped mole. Since it took about 2.5 hours to make, I probably won’t do it again. If you do try it, I’d also recommend salting the meat.
Alena
This chili was not good — it didn’t have a lot of flavor so I needed to add salt and more limes. Sort of gross, felt like I was just eating pure meat with spices (which is what this recipe consists of)
Me
Not sure what happened, but mine turned out extremely bitter :/
Jean
Made in Instant Pot using ground turkey. 10 min., quick release after cooking meatballs and deglazing pot.
AONM
Add pinto beans.Doesn’t have to be meatballs, just browned ground beef would be good and much easier.
Ruthie
I vegetarianized this recipe (defenders of "real" Texas chili be damned) by subbing a pound of ground Impossible 'beef' and a pound of beans. But I did follow the recipe's chile and spice blend to a T. It was great in Frito pie and tasted even better the next day. So I would say, customize the protein to your liking, don't worry about it being "authentic," but respect the chile & spice blend because that is really the key to this recipe.
virginia
Simple and pretty good recipe. I let it simmer for a while to get the flavors to meld. I had a few leftovers in the fridge of Brussels sprouts and potatoes so I threw those in there as well. It was good without that as well. For serving, make it a frito pie! Chopped onions, scallions, thinly sliced jalapeños and sour cream made it extra bright and indulgent!
Not worth it at all
I love times recipes and use them often. Simply put this recipe is ridiculous
Leading Edge Boomer
Congrats on knowing the difference between chile and chili.
DaveT
This was terrific! - tho it was a bit more work than the title suggests. I accidentally upped the cayenne to 1/2 tsp, which only added rather mild heat. In the pot it seemed a little bland, like it needed a LOT of salt. I stopped at 2 - 1/2 tsp when I realized (correctly) the Fritos would also provide seasoning. I'd definitely make again and I suspect leftovers for lunch at work will be even better the next day.
Bernice Glenn
Note: no tomatoes. This recipe is closer to real Texas chile than any of the others in the NYT collection. My preference for the beef is to use very small diced meat pieces instead of the coarsely ground beef, and add hot chiles to your taste.
Serve with pinto peans cooked with a chunk of smoked pork fatback.
Ralph
For actual Texas chili, you should never allow beans in the same room. ;-)
Private notes are only visible to you.
