America's Test Kitchen Beef mince Chilli (Slow Cooker)

Name: How to Make the Absolute Best Beef mince Chili
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 6 dried ancho chillies, stems and most seeds removed, torn into 2.5 to 4 cm pieces; 28 g tortilla chips; 2 tbsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp ground paprika; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tbsp ground coriander; 2 tsp dried oregano; 2 tsp ground black pepper; 0.5 tsp dried thyme; 900 g beef mince, 85% lean; 30 ml water, for dissolving the salt and baking soda; 1.5 tsp fine salt, for the baking soda treatment on the beef; 0.75 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 15 ml vegetable oil; 1 onion, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tsp chipotles in adobo, finely chopped; 2 tsp sugar; 411 g whole peeled tomatoes, tinned, processed smooth with their juice for about 30 seconds; 30 ml cider vinegar; fine salt, to taste; fresh coriander, chopped; red onion, minced; shredded cheese; avocado, diced; soured cream; lime, spritz of juice

America's Test Kitchen build this chilli around a homemade powder ground from six toasted dried ancho chillies, tortilla chips and a custom spice blend. The beef mince is treated with water, salt and baking soda before searing, which holds its moisture and helps it brown despite a crowded pan. Their original is finished in a 275F oven for one and a half to two hours. It translates well to a slow cooker because that long, low braise is exactly what the slow cooker is built for. The hob work stays (toasting the chillies, browning the beef and blooming the spices is where the flavour lives), then it all goes into the slow cooker for the unattended cook.

Slow cooker notes: Original is a hob simmer transferred to a covered 275F oven for 1.5 to 2 hours. Adapted to a slow cooker by keeping every hob step that builds flavour (toasting the dried chillies, grinding the homemade chilli powder, the baking soda rest on the beef, browning the beef, blooming the spice mixture in the rendered fat, adding tomatoes) and then moving the lot to the slow cooker for the long braise. Low 6 hours or High 3 hours gives the same tender, broken down beef mince the source describes. Cider vinegar and a final salt seasoning go in at the end as the source instructs. Do not skim the fat layer that forms (the spices are oil soluble, per the source).

Ingredients

Homemade chilli powder

6dried ancho chillies, stems and most seeds removed, torn into 2.5 to 4 cm pieces
28 gtortilla chips
2 tbspground cumin
1 tbspground paprika
1 tbspgarlic powder
1 tbspground coriander
2 tspdried oregano
2 tspground black pepper
0.5 tspdried thyme

Beef

900 gbeef mince, 85% lean
30 mlwater, for dissolving the salt and baking soda
1.5 tspfine salt, for the baking soda treatment on the beef
0.75 tspbicarbonate of soda

Pot

15 mlvegetable oil
1onion, chopped
3garlic cloves, minced
2 tspchipotles in adobo, finely chopped
2 tspsugar
411 gwhole peeled tomatoes, tinned, processed smooth with their juice for about 30 seconds

Finishing

30 mlcider vinegar (add late)
to tastefine salt, to taste (add late)

To serve

fresh coriander, chopped (add late)
red onion, minced (add late)
shredded cheese (add late)
avocado, diced (add late)
soured cream (add late)
lime, spritz of juice (add late)

Method

Prep the dried anchos. Tear off the stems and rip the chillies open, shaking out most of the seeds. Tear the flesh into pieces about 2.5 to 4 cm across.
~5 min
Toast the chillies in a dry pot or large pan over medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until you can smell them. Pull the pot off the heat the moment it starts to smoke. Tip the toasted chillies into a food processor and let them cool until crisp.
~6 min
Treat the beef. In a bowl, dissolve 1.5 teaspoons of salt and 0.75 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in 2 tablespoons of water. Add the 900g of beef mince and toss to coat evenly. Let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes.
~20 min
Grind the chilli powder. To the cooled chillies in the food processor, add 28g of tortilla chips, 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 tablespoon ground paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons ground black pepper and half a teaspoon of dried thyme. Process for about 2 minutes to a fine powder with no big chilli pieces left. Tip into a bowl.
~4 min
Process the tomatoes. Tip the 411g tin of whole peeled tomatoes and their juice into the food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds until smooth. Set aside.
~1 min
Brown the beef. Put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. While it heats, chop the onion. Add the chopped onion to the hot oil and cook for 4 to 6 minutes until softened. Stir in 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.
~8 min
Add the treated beef mince to the pot. Crowd the pan, the baking soda trick will brown it anyway. Break the meat up into small pieces with a spoon and cook for 12 to 14 minutes until well browned on the bottom and some of the fat has rendered.
~14 min
Bloom the spices. Add the homemade chilli powder and 2 teaspoons of finely chopped chipotles in adobo to the browned beef. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes in the rendered fat to bloom the oil soluble spices.
~2 min
Stir in 2 teaspoons of sugar and the processed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
~3 min
Transfer everything from the pot to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or High for 3 hours, until the beef is tender and the chilli has thickened.
~360 min
Let the chilli stand uncovered for about 10 minutes to settle. A layer of fat will rise to the top. Do not skim it. Stir it back in, the spices are oil soluble and most of their flavour is in that fat.
~10 min
Stir in 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar. Taste and season with a little more salt as needed.
~1 min
Ladle into bowls. Top with chopped fresh coriander, minced red onion, shredded cheese, diced avocado, a dollop of soured cream and a spritz of lime.
~3 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need to make my own chilli powder?

It is the whole premise of the source recipe. Toasting six dried ancho chillies and grinding them with the spice mix gives a depth that pre-ground supermarket chilli powder cannot match. If you must substitute, use a good single origin ancho powder and keep the chipotles in adobo in the pot.

Why the bicarbonate of soda on the meat?

Two reasons, both from the source. It helps the beef mince hold on to moisture so it stays juicy through the long braise, and it makes the meat brown faster, even when you crowd the pan. Stir 0.75 teaspoon with 1.5 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons water into the beef and rest it for 20 minutes before browning.

Can I skip the browning step and just chuck everything in the slow cooker?

You will lose most of the flavour. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so the colour and depth in this chilli come from browning the beef and blooming the spices in the rendered fat. Do the hob work, then transfer to the slow cooker for the long braise.

Should I skim the fat off the finished chilli?

No. The source is firm on this. Most of the spices are oil soluble, so a lot of their flavour is in that fat layer that rises. Stir it back through. Skim it off and the chilli tastes lean and flat.

Can I use lean mince to cut the fat?

The source specifies 85% lean (ground chuck) for a reason. Leaner mince dries out over the long braise and the rendered fat is where the bloomed spices live. Stick with 80 to 85% lean if you can.

Extraction notes (transparency): Default servings (6) inferred from 2 lb (900g) beef mince plus a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes, not stated in the source. Slow cooker times inferred from standard beef mince chilli practice and the source's 1.5 to 2 hour 275F oven braise. Chipotle quantity given as 1 to 2 teaspoons in the source, taken at the upper end (2 tsp) as the cook chose. Chipotle form (in adobo, dried, or powder) is described as 'smoked jalapenos' but the exact form was not explicitly stated, taken as chipotles in adobo. Toppings listed without quantities, as per the source. Coriander used in two places: the chilli powder uses ground coriander (seed), the topping is fresh coriander leaf (called coriander in the source).