Frankie's Dynamite Chilli

This baby is a work in progress. It takes time, and lots of it, to make a perfect chilli. It also takes plenty of practice and a fair bit of experimentation. I have only hit chilli nirvana once and it was a joy to behold! My numero uno tip is to not underestimate the impact of the meat chunks mixed in with the mince - and use plenty of spices for a really full flavour.

You may think that this is a rather long list of ingredients, but chilli is one of those fantastic dishes that matures over several days as all the different flavours combine. Make up this big batch and it will blow your mind for a week (you're gonna need a BIG pan, this feeds 2 of you for 3-4 days)...

Ingredients:

• 500g of decent quality mince
• 500g of rump steak (you can use braising steak if you are skint)
• A few rashers of smoked bacon (optional but v.tasty)
• Some sun-dried tomatoes (also optional but tasty)
  
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
• At least one small tin of tomato puree
• 2 medium onions
• 6 cloves of garlic (trust me on this)
  
• 1 red pepper (and 1 green if you want to boost the amount slightly)
  
• 1 tin of kidney beans
  
• Plenty of chillis
• Chilli powder
  
• Ground cumin (and cumin seeds if you have them)
  
• Ground corriander
• Ground cinnamon (and cinnamon sticks if you have them)
• Paprika
• Dried oregano
• Bay leaves
  
• Tabasco sauce
  
• Red wine or port, or 1 can of strong full flavoured beer, or cheap whisky/bourbon
  
• Worcester sauce
• Honey (or brown sugar)
  
• Some concentrated beef stock or an oxo cube

To Serve:

• Rice
• Cheddar cheese
  
• Some tortilla chips
• Sour cream

Method:

The key to this is regular tasting to check the chilli heat is suitable and to ensure the cumin is coming through sufficiently as these are the two primary flavours. It is quite tricky to say how many chillis you should use as this depends on how hot you like it, what type of chillis you have and how big they are. I love it hot and spicy, so I would use 3, possibly 4 of the ones you get in a packet from Tesco's (Sainsbury's are the same), but maybe one less of the long thin variety available from greengrocers. I would not advise you use the small birdseye variety popular in Thai dishes, but if that's all you can get try 6.

• Chop the onion and garlic and put it on a low heat in a large oven proof, hob friendly pan. Pop the lid on the pan and sweat the onions for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. This will give them a wonderful sweet flavour.
• While they are on, chop the steak into small cubes, don't go too small or you will lose them amongst the mince, but make enough so as they are plentiful. Maybe about 2cm in size.
• In a separate pan, on a very high heat, flash fry the steak for just long enough to seal it and drain off the excess fat (fry the bacon too if you are using it). Set to one side.
• When the onions are nearing readiness chop and add half the chillis and a couple of pinches of cumin seeds
• After a minute or so add the mince to the pan and break it up. When it starts to brown season heavily with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Crumble the oxo cube over it or stir in a few tsp of the stock concentrate
• Add the steak to the mix
• Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of chili powder (this helps to even out the heat), 3 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp of corriander, 1 tsp of paprika and 1 tsp of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick or two (if you don't have then add an extra tsp of ground cinnamon).
• Give it a stir and add the tins of chopped tomatoes.
• Stir this up and give it a couple of minutes to settle, then add a generous sprinkling of oregano and a few bay leaves.
• Add the hydrated sun-dried tomatoes if you are using them
  
• Add the tomato puree, a proper shake of Worcester and a splash of Tabasco and mix it all in
• Time to taste! At this stage it shouldn't be too hot as we have only added half the chillis. Chop and add as many more as you think you need. Season again if need be, a good chili need more than an average amount of salt to draw out it's potential.
• Add plenty of honey and/or some brown sugar
  
• Throw in the booze! Add the whisky, beer or red wine/port until the mix is quite liquidy (probably best to water down the whiskey).
• Stir it all up, add chop and add your peppers and throw in the kidney beans and I reckons y'all about done!
• Stir thoroughly then simmer with the lid off to reduce the liquid.
• Preheat your oven to 160
• Over the next hour come back from time to time to check the mix and add a little more booze as it reduces. Taste regularly and adjust with extra spice as needed. If you have underestimated the amount of chillis and it's not hot enough, the best thing to do is add some dried chilli flakes. If it is too hot... well, you'll know for next time.
  
• Finally, when you think it is of a good semi-thick consistency put it in the oven
• Cook it for 3-4 hours stirring occasionally. If it looks too watery take the lid off for the last half hour.
  
• Serve on a bed of rice, sprinkle with cheese, add a handful of tortillas and a dollop of sour cream. A couple of bottles of Mexican beer with lime wedges in the bottle neck will set things of perfectly.
  

Wow, that was a bit of a mission! But just remember, that is pretty much all the cooking you will have to do for the next few days, so go and relax and polish off the remainder of that booze!