Rick's Chili Recipe

I make up about 16 quarts of this at a time and keep it in 1-quart containers in the freezer. When we can’t decide what to have for dinner, I thaw and heat up two plastic containers of chili and some frozen tortillas. Great with a good beer.

12-quart stock pot
6-quart stock pot
Food processor or blender
large bowl
long-handled spoon
whisk

4 lbs. extra lean course ground chuck
2 lbs. lean course ground pork
3 T. ground cumin
2 T. oregano
1 T. salt
3 T. minced garlic
1 cup lard
12 T. chili powder
1 t. black pepper
2 t. cayenne
3 bay leaves
½ C. corn starch
½ C. water 1 jar chopped jalapenos
1 qt. Datil pepper sauce or 17-oz. bottle Dat’l Do It*
6 medium onions chopped fine
3 cans tomato paste
2 12-oz bottles hearty beer
1 bottle Guiness stout
1 C. Tequila
2 t. sugar
1 T. paprika
2 T. cilantro
3 lbs. pinto beans

Rinse beans and cover (in six-quart pot) with water, adding about three fingers above the bean level. Bring to a boil, boil for two minutes, turn off heat, cover, and let sit one hour. Add enough water during that hour to just cover beans. Bring beans back to boil and simmer gently, half an hour. Taste for tenderness; when tender remove from heat and set aside, uncovered.

In the large stock pot, over high heat, melt lard. Add onions and meat, stirring well. Add all dry ingredients, except corn starch, mixing well as each is placed in pot. In a separate bowl place tomato paste and Datil pepper sauce*, beer, stout and tequila. You may wish to rinse cans with liquids before adding to bowl. Whisk until blended. Add to meat and stir well. If using beans, add them to the large pot, with all their liquid. Stir well, bring to the boil, reduce flame, and simmer gently one hour, uncovered. About every seven to ten minutes skim off fat that has risen to the surface, and foam that has formed, then reach to the bottom of the pot with the long handled spoon and stir up ingredients. At the end of the hour check for seasoning. If you like more "kick" add a T. or two of chili powder and a teaspoon or so of cayenne, mix well, let simmer for ten minutes and check again for seasoning.

Now, you either have a grand party, or freeze in one-quart containers. Or make only part of the recipe.

*Note: Datil pepper sauce comes from only one place in the United States, St. Augustine Florida. Early sailors who settled there brought the seeds from Spain and the climate was particularly helpful for the plants. I got some seeds in the late eighties (when I was there making Illegally Yours for Peter Bogdanovich) and nurtured them in Van Nuys California, where they grew fairly well in fifteen-gallon pots, bearing for up to two years. The peppers are picked, tossed into a plastic bag and kept in the freezer until I have enough to make the sauce. It requires a full pint to make twelve quarts (which are then processed for one hour in boiling water, as in canning).

If you don’t have any Datil pepper sauce, there’s a substitute: Dat’l Do It, Datil Pepper Hot Sauce. To find out how to obtain a 7 oz. bottle write to: Dat’l Do It, P.O. Box 4019, St. Augustine, FL 32085, or telephone: [800] Hot Datl. If you use the substitute, eliminate the Cayenne until ready to adjust seasoning at the completion of cooking.