New Mexico Red Chile Recipe
An authentic beef chili made with a deep red pepper sauce.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs beef chuck roast
- 3 dried ancho chiles
- 3 dried guajillo chiles
- 4 fresh poblano peppers
- 3 cans of hatch chiles
- 2 fresh jalapeños
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/2 cup cassava flour
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup of light beer
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp of vegetable bouillon (Better Than Bouillon brand)
- Cilantro (chopped for top)
- Lime
- Optional- tortillas, tortilla chips or rice
Instructions
- Preparation: Toast the dried Ancho and Guajillo peppers on a cast iron skillet until they have some darkened color. Then soak the dried peppers in water overnight to rehydrate. If you don’t have time to do this preparation over night you can add to an instant pot pressure cooker with water and steam them for 10 minutes. When they peppers are rehydrated and ready to turn into a sauce, put on glove and proceed to deseed them by slicing vertically down the center to deseed and remove the stem.
- Roast the poblano and jalapeño peppers at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes. Remove the peppers and cover them with a lid or tin foil - this steaming will help to remove the outer skin easily. After 10-20 minutes, using gloves, deseed the peppers and remove the stem and outer skin, discard the waste. Cut the peppers into 1/2 inch squares.
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic and sauté in olive oil until onions are translucent. Put half aside for the blender and half aside to be added back to the dutch oven pot later.
- Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes than toss in cassava flour until fully coated. Add the beef in batches to the hot pan with 1-2 Tbsp of oil and sear until dark brown on each side. Don’t overcrowd the meat in the pot or it won’t sear easily. Place the meat aside on a plate until all of the beef is seared.
- To the blender add 1/2 the amount of sautéed onions and garlic, the rehydrated ancho chiles and guajillo peppers, cumin, coriander, oregano, bouillon, water, tomato paste. Blend until smooth then add to the pot with the beef and rest of sautéed onions and garlic.
- Add the beer, canned hatch chilies, roasted poblanos and jalapeños.
- Place in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours without a lid.
- When the red chili is done, wash and chop the cilantro and remainder of raw white onion for the top. Slice the lime into wedges for squeezing over the top and serve alone or with one of the following: warm tortillas, tortilla chips or rice.
Notes
- Toasting the ancho and Guajillo peppers is a small step that allows to bring forward the true flavors and depth in the peppers which is crucial for making a traditional chili.
- Searing the beef is the most time consuming part of the process of this recipe but don’t skip out as it is an important part of nailing the texture and experience of the beef.
- The more seeds you remove from the peppers will lessen the natural bitterness that the peppers bring forward in the flavor of an authentic Mexican chili and will also lessen the level of spice.
- To lower the spice level omit the jalapeños all together.