Billy Parisi's Texas Chilli (Slow Cooker)

Billy Parisi cooks this Texas chili over the hob for two to three hours, building flavour in stages: toasting dried chillies, rendering bacon, searing big cubes of chuck in the rendered fat, sautéing onions and garlic, blooming tomato paste, toasting whole spices, then long simmering with coffee, pilsner beer, beef stock and tomato puree. It translates well to a slow cooker because the long, low simmer is what tenderises the beef. The hob work stays (the toasting and searing are where most of the flavour lives), then everything goes into the slow cooker for the unattended braise. Finished with masa harina, apple cider vinegar and a square of bittersweet chocolate. No beans.

Ingredients

• 6dried ancho chillies, stem and seeds removed
• 3dried guajillo chillies, stem and seeds removed
• 1dried chile de arbol, stem and seeds removed
• 2chipotles in adobo, from a tin
• 3 tbspadobo sauce, from the chipotle tin
• 480 mlbeef stock, for blending with the rehydrated chillies

• 5 stripsthick cut bacon, thickly julienned into lardons
• 2.27 kgbeef chuck roast, trimmed of stringy fat, cut into 2.5 cm (1 inch) cubes
• 4 tspcoarse salt, for seasoning the beef
• 1.25 tspfreshly cracked black pepper, for seasoning the beef

• 2large yellow onions, small diced
• 8garlic cloves, smashed and finely minced
• 3 tbsptomato paste

• 240 mlstrong brewed coffee, freshly made
• 1 bottlepilsner beer
• 480 mlbeef stock, for the braise
• 225 gtomato puree

• 5allspice berries, toasted and ground
• 1cinnamon stick, toasted and ground
• 6whole cloves, toasted and ground
• 2 tspcoriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 3 tbspcumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 2 tbspdried oregano, pulsed in with the ground spices

• 80 mlmasa harina, whisked with reserved braising liquid (add late)
• 1 tbspapple cider vinegar (add late)
• 28 gbittersweet chocolate, chopped (add late)

• grated cheddar (add late)
• diced onion (add late)
• sliced jalapenos (add late)

Method

1. Pull off the stems and rip open the dried ancho, guajillo and chile de arbol chillies. Scrape out the seeds.

   ~5 min

2. Spread the seeded chillies in a large cast iron or carbon steel pan over medium heat. Press them down for a few seconds on each side with a spatula or spoon for two to three minutes total, until they smell aromatic.

   ~3 min

3. Cover the toasted chillies with water in the same pan and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes to soften them. While they soften, get on with the rest of the prep.

   ~30 min

4. Thickly julienne the bacon into lardons. In a large heavy pot over medium heat, sauté the bacon for two to three minutes to start the render. Drop the heat to low and stir occasionally for another seven to eight minutes until the lardons are crispy and brown.

   ~10 min

5. Cut the chuck roast into 2.5 cm (1 inch) cubes, trimming any stringy fat. Spread on a tray and season generously with 4 teaspoons coarse salt and 1.25 teaspoons cracked black pepper. Mix by hand so every side is seasoned.

   ~10 min

6. Lift the crispy bacon out into a bowl. Strain off about half of the rendered fat from the pot (save it for cooking later). Return the pot to high heat.

   ~2 min

7. Sear the seasoned beef in two batches in the bacon fat. Let the cubes sit untouched for three to four minutes, flip, and cook another three to four minutes until well browned on both sides. Set seared beef aside as you go.

   ~16 min

8. While the second batch sears, small dice 2 large yellow onions and smash and finely mince 8 cloves of garlic.

   ~8 min

9. Lift the seared beef out. Add the onions to the pot, season lightly with salt and sauté for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Drop the heat to low and stir occasionally for another 10 minutes.

   ~15 min

10. Drain the softened chillies (the soaking water can be bitter), rinse briefly under cold water, then tip into a blender. Add 2 chipotles, 3 tablespoons of adobo sauce and 480 ml (2 cups) of beef stock. Blend until perfectly smooth.

    ~4 min

11. Stir the minced garlic into the onions and cook for 30 to 45 seconds until fragrant. Add 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and pincet it for three to four minutes, stirring often, until it turns a rust colour. Pour in about a quarter of the blended chilli sauce and cook for another two to three minutes to concentrate the flavour.

    ~8 min

12. Tip the contents of the pot into the slow cooker. Add the seared beef, half of the crispy bacon lardons, 1 cup of strong coffee, 1 bottle of pilsner beer, 480 ml (2 cups) of beef stock and the 225 g (8 oz) of tomato puree. Pour in the rest of the blended chilli sauce, swish the blender out with a little water and add that too. Season with a little more coarse salt and stir.

    ~5 min

13. In a small dry pan over medium heat, toast 5 allspice berries, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 whole cloves, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds and 3 tablespoons cumin seeds for three to four minutes, moving them constantly. Tip into a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind smooth. Pulse in 2 tablespoons of dried oregano.

    ~6 min

14. Stir the ground spice blend into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours, until the beef is very tender but still holding its shape. Taste after 4 hours on Low or 2 hours on High and adjust spices if needed.

    ~480 min

15. For the final 45 minutes, lift the slow cooker lid to let the chilli reduce and concentrate.

    ~45 min

16. Ladle 1 to 1.5 cups of the hot braising liquid into a bowl. Whisk in 80 ml (1/3 cup) of masa harina until it thickens, then stir straight back into the slow cooker.

    ~3 min

17. Stir in 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 28 g (1 oz) of chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted in.

    ~2 min

18. Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheddar, diced onion, sliced jalapenos and the remaining crispy bacon. Cornbread on the side, beans alongside if you must, never in the pot.

    ~3 min

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