Mark’s Knock-Yer-Socks-Off Chili
Mar 10th, 2001 by mark
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
1 med to large onion coarsely chopped
½ green pepper finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 clove elephant garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (28 oz)
1 small can tomato paste
olive oil
chili powder
cumin
cayenne (red pepper) powder
anise seed
salt
pepper
sugar
Worcestershire sauce
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large stew pot. Once it’s hot add the onions, green pepper and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until the vegetable start to soften. Remove them from the pot and add the ground beef. Brown the beef and crumble. Season with salt and pepper. Once the meat is brown re-add the vegetables.
Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to mix well. Re-season with more salt and pepper. Also add a pinch of sugar to cut the acid taste of the tomatoes.
I season without measuring so the following are just estimates. Experiment on your own until it tastes the way you want. Be careful tho… it will take a while for the hot flavors to become apparent, if you don’t wait a while after adding spice to taste test you can make it too hot to eat.
I generally start with a couple of tablespoons of chili powder. I almost always end up adding more later.
I put several good shakes of Worcestershire in, maybe a tablespoon.
A couple, three shakes of cayenne and cumin. Add a dozen or so anise seeds. Sometimes I toss a bay leaf in for grins.
Mix well and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for several hours. Once your mouth is watering and you can’t wait any longer serve and eat.
