This post is a chronology of the recipes since 2021, as we have tweaked them. The 2026 recipe is the most authentic, using whole dried chili peppers.

1/17/2026 – Mary made a great chili using the ingredients from 2/18/2019 below, except that she roasted three whole dried Ancho and three dried Quajillo peppers in a hot cast-iron skillet. Added water to cover and simmered for about 30 minutes, then drained. Then blended the peppers with all the other spices. That blend was then added to the browned ground meat with the onions, garlic, and beef stock. Chef Billy used those peppers prepared that way in his Chicken Pozole recipe.

2/18/2019 – Mary made chili loosely following “Joe Cooper’s Chili” recipe on page 112 of our copy of Texas Home Cooking by Jamison and Jamison. See her notes on that page of what she did differently, as summarized below. The Chili was very good with a bold, full chili beef flavor that was not too hot. When made with a typical store-bought beef stock, it would likely result in a bit different flavor as the bone stock we used this time had a smell/taste that was strongly of bone but rich. Made this again on 2/12/2021 successfully. See below.

• 2 lbs. ground chuck
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 qt. of homemade beef bone stock. [did not have beef stock]
• 5 ancho chili pods, stemmed, seeded, chopped small
• 2 Tbsp Paprika
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 Tbsp Salt
• 1 heaping tsp ground Chipotle Pepper
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp coarse-ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp cornmeal
• 1-1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1. Sear the meat until grey, then add the stock and bay leaf. Simmer for about a half-hour. 
2. Remove the bay leaf and simmer for another 90 minutes.
3. Add all other ingredients except the cornmeal and flour. Simmer until done. Maybe 30-60 minutes or more.
4. Make a paste with the cornmeal and flour and add to thicken.

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2/12/2021 – Made with:

• 2 lbs of regular ground meat 80/10 and a half-pound of fresh Hot Smoked Pork Sausage with the casing removed. Both from South Alabama Custom Meats;
• 1 box (quart) of Swanson Beef Broth;
• Substituted 4 tsp of ground Ancho Chili’s for the Ancho Peppers and only 1/2 tsp of cayenne until we saw how hot it would be with the ground Ancho peppers. It was very spicy even with the reduced cayenne.

Comments:

1. The finely ground meats did not provide the chewy lumps that chili needs. Next time use large-grind ground meat or finely chopped roast.
2. The sausage without the casing was mushy.
3. The seasoning is good although having chopped ancho peppers would be better than the powder.