Texas Red with chuck

Method

Grate the onions. Chop the garlic finely.

Slice the roast into small cubes. Dry off the cubes with paper towels. In a large Dutch oven, sear them in bacon grease. Lower the heat, stir in flour, cumin, chili powder, garlic, oregano, tomato paste and onions. Cover with water or beef stock. Stir the pot until well incorporated. Bring the liquids to a boil, cut the heat to a slow simmer, cover and braise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Stir the pot - on occasion. Season to taste with salt - near the end of the cooking time. Garnish with lime wedges.

notes

The choice of chile peppers to use in this dish is left up to the reader. Dried Ancho, Guajillo or New Mexican peppers are a good choice. A blend of New Mexican and chile de arbol is what I use. Simply, de-seed and de-stem the pods, warm the chiles in a frying pan, then finely pulverize them in a coffee grinder.

Experiment with a variety of dry, mild and hot chiles to achieve the perfect blend of color and heat. (From earthy to hot peppers - Ancho, Mulatto, California, New Mexican, Guajillo, cascabel, chile de arbol and chiltepin.)

An alternative means of thickening chili is to omit the flour in the recipe, and - about 5 minutes before serving, thicken it with a slurry consisting of Masa Harina dissolved in water.