Whether it is at the gym, in between jell-o shots at Sunday Funday, or one of the parties he hosts solely as an excuse to make this chili, our friend, Jay, has been telling us about this recipe for a VERY long time. Unfortunately, we let the recipe sit in our inbox far too long and it got buried under spam and porn emails. But this past weekend, Dallas experienced the annual shitting of it’s pants that begins when the first frozen droplet of water hits the ground. This paved the way for this perfect cold weather dish.
Because of the sub-40’s temperatures all day Sunday, we decided to blow the digital dust off Jay’s email and tackle this chili. Correction: His TWO-years-in-a-row-winner-of-his-office-chili-cook-off chili. He’s pretty proud of that, as he should be. We even teased a picture of us starting the recipe on our Instagram and Jay immediately, liked it, commented on it, and texted a list of new revisions to the recipe. He doesn’t take this chili shit lightly.
These said revisions included more chiles and garlic, maybe less coriander, and the use of Shiner Bock Black Lager. We were too far into the recipe to make the changes, but luckily, great queers think alike and we did use Shiner that we had on hand. Honestly, we don’t know how this recipe could get better… Until we find a way to incorporate some more alcohol into it. Stay tuned.
One last note, you’ll want to set aside a chunk of time for this recipe. Although prep is not astronomically time-consuming, to get the chunks of brisket nice and tender and to really let the flavors develop, this bakes for 4 hours.
optional garnishes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a medium saucepan of 3 to 4 cups of water to a boil, remove from heat and place ancho chiles to soak for at least 30 minutes. Remove the chiles from water and discard the stems and seeds. Reserve the soaking liquid. Place the chiles, 1 cup of the soaking liquid, garlic cloves, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin seeds, oregano, and coriander in a food processor. Puree until smooth. If it is too thick, add additional chili soaking liquid. You’ll want a sort of ‘soupy’ consistency. In a very large Dutch oven or oven-proof pot over high heat, sauté the diced bacon until just beginning to brown but not crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Add the onions and cook until tender but not brown, about another 5-7 minutes. Generously season the beef cubes with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and stir to coat. Pour ancho chile purée over brisket in pot. Next, add tomatoes with juices, beer, green chiles, pineapple juice and cilantro stems. Stir to coat evenly. Bring to a simmer. Transfer to oven. Cook for 2 hours, uncover, stir, then cook uncovered for two more hours. You may need to stir occasionally so that the beef remains covered in liquid. Add additional ancho chile soaking liquid if necessary to keep beef covered and from drying out. Let cool for 20 minutes or so, skimming off any fat that floats to the surface. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and anything else your heart desires.
serves 6