Grate Grinds Texas Chili Con Carne Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 4 strips of thick bacon, sliced ¼” and cooked to golden brown.
• 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat is reserved for this recipe, the remainder could be used for another purpose.
• 1 ½ pounds of lean (fat trimmed) ½” diced beef.  Use a good cut of beef with internal marbling like: chuck, sirloin or bottom round. Don’t use cuts like top round or eye or round.  They don’t have any internal marbling and will be dry and not very tasty.
• 4 to 6 tablespoons of Texas Chili Con Carne Seasoning (ground or left in flake form). 4 tablespoons for mild and 6 tablespoons will be nicely spicy.
• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups of beef broth

Method:

1)  Cook the sliced bacon over medium heat in a medium size pot until golden brown and set aside in a separate bowl. – Figure 1.

Figure 1.  Rendering the bacon for the chili.

2)  In the same pot on high heat, add half of the reserved bacon fat and the half of diced beef.  Brown the beef on all sides and remove and add the beef to the cooked bacon.  Repeat with the remaining bacon fat and beef. – Figure 2.

Figure 2.  Browning the beef for the Texas Chili.

3)  Add the cooked bacon and browned beef back into the pot.

4)  Add the Texas Chile Con Carne Seasoning into the pan with the meat and stir to coat the meat.  Sauté for 15 seconds. – Figure 3

Figure 3.  Adding the bacon and Texas Chili Con Carne Seasoning.

5)  Immediately add the tomatoes and the beef broth. – Figure 4

Figure 4.  Simmering the Texas Chili with the tomato sauce and beef broth.

6)  Simmer (not boil) for 1 hour COVERED, stirring occasionally or until the meat is tender.  If desired add some additional beef broth to the pot, as some people like their chili a little “soupier”. – Figure 5.

Figure 5.  Texas Chili Con Carne ready to be served.