Chilli con Carne

Definitions:
Larousse Gastronomique: A Mexican speciality that has become popular in Britain and throughout the United States: it was a typical dish in the cookery of the pioneers of Texas. The name means literally “chilli peppers with meat”, and the authentic dish is a ragout of minced or cubed beef cooked with thinly sliced onions and seasoned with chilli peppers, powdered cumin and other spices. Red kidney beans are sometime added during the cooking, although purists object to them.
 

The Australian Gourmet Pages
Chilli Wizards’ Chilli con Carne, entered in the Chilli Festival Chilli Cook Off, Sunday, 15th July 2001

Ingredients
Makes about 5 litres

3 kg beef, shin, cut into 2cm cubes (reserve bone marrow!)
300g Griebenschmalz (rendered pork fat, unstrained)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
750ml dry red wine
500ml Madeira
6 red onions, sliced
3 brown onions, chopped finely
3 heads of garlic, peeled and sliced
10 red shallots, peeled, sliced
1 kg ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped
2 tbs ginger and green onion juice
2 tbs Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp wattle seeds
1 tsp basil seeds
1 tsp akadjura powder (bush tomato)
½  tsp sharjah cumin (black cumin)
1 tbs coriander seeds
4 small dry red chillies, seeded
1 tbs mustard seeds, brown
1 tbs mustard seeds, black
2 bay leaves
3 Pasilla chillies, soaked in brandy for 1 hour, julienned
2 Ancho Chilli, soaked in brandy for 1 hour, julienned
2 Mulatto Chillies, soaked in brandy for 1 hour, julienned
5 Cascabel chillies, soaked in brandy for 1 hour, julienned
2 bird’s eye chillies, sliced
6 long red chillies, seeded, sliced
1cm piece of Kokum
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 tbs preserved lemon, chopped finely
150g butter, cut into small cubes

Method:
Soak the wattle seeds in the red wine for an hour, then strain, discard the seeds.
Put the Madeira t into a small saucepan and reduce to one third. Set aside.
Dry-fry the cumin, coriander, basil seeds and mustard in a non-stick fry pan until fragrant. Let cool then grind with the dry red chillies to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Set aside. Peel two centimetres of young ginger and chop, wash and clean four green onions and slice put into a mortar and pestle with 2 tbs water. Pound. Scoop up the paste and press out the juices. Discard solids.
Melt the pork fat in a heavy-based saucepan and brown the meat in small batches, set aside. Melt more pork fat in a heavy-based saucepan and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onions, garlic, red shallots and ginger. Sweat until glassy then add the meat and the ginger/green onion juice. Increase heat add the browned meat then add the wine and port and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add all the spices, including the fresh chillies and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer over very low heat, covered, for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and add tomatoes. Simmer for a further 1 hour. Remove Cascabel chillies.
Add preserved lemons, bone marrow and butter and simmer for a further 30 minutes then season and serve.