Shredded Beef Chili

Shredded Beef Chili Recipe
The Traditional Mexican Stew Ropa Vieja Inspire a Hearty Chili

By: Norman Kolpas

Dried red chilies add rich spicy flavor., AnushaRaji, MorgueFile.com
Beef flank steak, fresh and dried chili peppers, onions, and garlic team up to make this robust, meaty, medium-hot steak chili inspired by a popular Mexican beef stew.

The popular Mexican dish ropa vieja, which literally means "old clothes" or "rags," gets its charming name from the tattered, shredded appearance of beef flank steak that has been gently stewed for several hours until it is fall-apart tender. Then, easily torn into shreds with a pair of table forks and recombined with its moderately spicy sauce, the meat adds terrific flavor and texture to an amazing version of chili con carne.

To toast dried chilies as called for in the recipe, a step that develops their flavor, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Wipe the chilies clean with a kitchen towel and spread them out on a baking sheet. Put the sheet in the oven and roast just until the chilies noticeably darken in color and give off a spicy aroma, 3 to 5 minutes. Watch carefully, removing the chilies from the oven as soon as they are ready, so they don't burn. Then, leave them uncovered at room temperature until cool enough to handle before you pull of their stems, split them open, and remove the seeds.

Shredded Beef Chili
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 pounds whole beef flank steak
* Salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 4 dried Anaheim chilies, toasted, stemmed, and seeded (see note above)
* 4 cups good-quality canned beef broth
* 2 tablespoons dried leaf oregano
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 4 fresh green Anaheim chilies, stemmed, deveined, seeded, and cut lengthwise into thin strips
* 2 fresh green ancho chilies, stemmed, deveined, seeded, and cut lengthwise into thin strips
* 1 fresh jalapeño chili, stemmed, deveined, seeded, and cut lengthwise into thin strips
* 4 medium-sized yellow onions, thinly sliced
* 4 medium-sized garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 1 bay leaf
* Chopped red onion, for serving
* Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the steak all over with salt and pepper. Brown all over, 7 to 10 minutes total.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender or a food processor, put the dried chilies, half of the broth, and the oregano and cumin; process until the chilies are pureed. Set aside.
3. When the meat is browned, carefully remove it from the pot to a plate. Carefully pour off the fat. Add the remaining broth to the pot and, over medium-high heat, stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits.
4. Toss together the fresh chilies, onions, and garlic, and spread half of the mixture on the pot. Place the steak on top and cover it with the remaining chilies, onions, and garlic. Add the bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pour in the pureed red chili mixture.
5. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered, until the meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
6. Remove the meat and vegetables from the pot and set them aside at room temperature. Discard the bay leaf.
7. Raise the heat to high under the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Continue boiling until it has reduced to the consistency of a thin syrup, about 30 minutes.
8. When the liquid is almost done reducing, use a pair of table forks to pull the meat apart into shreds and chunks. Return them to the pot with the chilies, onions, and garlic and stir well to combine with the sauce. Adjust the seasonings to taste, if necessary, with salt and pepper.

9. Spoon the chili into serving bowls and pass red onion and cilantro on the side.

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Slow Cooker Variation:

* To make this as a slow cooker chili recipe, first brown the flank steak as directed in a large pot or Dutch oven as directed in step 1 above.
* Prepare the pureed dried chili mixture in step 2.
* Deglaze the pot as directed in step 3.
* Then deglaze the pot (step 4) and add the chili mixture, bringing the liquid to a boil.
* Arrange half of the mixture of fresh chilies, onion, and garlic in a slow cooker, place the browned beef on top, cover with the remaining chili-onion mixture, add the bay leaf, and carefully pour in the hot cooking liquid.
* Cover and slow-cook until the meat is very tender, 4 to 5 hours at the high-heat setting or 8 to 10 hours at the low-heat setting.
* To complete the recipe, after removing the meat and vegetables from the slow cooker (step 6), carefully transfer the cooking liquid back to a pot or large saucepan to reduce it (step 7)
* Then combine the shredded meat and vegetables with the sauce either in that pot or pan or back in the slow cooker on its "keep warm" setting.

If you like, serve the chili over steamed rice. Or pass warmed corn tortillas or flour tortillas for making the chili into tacos.