texas style chili

No Beans About It

Those who know my passion for chili know that I insist that the best chili on the planet is the chili that contains beans. My hips don’t lie.

Right or wrong this sweet bowl of red texas style chili recipe does not have beans and there’s something about it that I absolutely loved … I nervously shelled about $20 for the steak to the folks at HEB and I’m happy to report that it was absolutely delicious! I learned tonight that I actually prefer this type of chili meat over ground anything (even chili ground) so this recipe taught me never to say never in the kitchen.

Giddy up!

foodie tips ~

♥ Salad Oil? It’s not salad dressing; more like veggie oil, olive oil and the like. Read more about salad oil here.

♥ Sorry, onion lovers! To avoid “the burpies” we deviated from this recipe and included all of the onions all at once vs. using some fresh on top to garnish. Feel free to keep it raw and real (note Jill’s recipe card below for details).

♥ Chili Lover? Check out my other family favorite – Kiker’s Kicker Award-Winning Pot Licker Chili recipe. Yay, food awards … I’m important!

♥ For the dismount also consider serving with saltines or tortilla chips. It keeps you honest.

i. ingredients

3 ½ – 4 pounds | boneless beef chuck blade steak
¼ cup | salad oil
2 cups | onions, chopped
3 medium | green peppers, diced
4 cloves | garlic, crushed
2 28-ounce cans | tomatoes
12-ounce can | tomato paste
2 cups | water
⅓ cup | chili powder
¼ cup | sugar
2 tablespoons | salt
2 teaspoons | oregano leaves
¾ teaspoon | cracked black pepper
to garnish | monterey jack cheese, shredded

ii. what to do

1. Cut steak into ½” cubes.

2. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the meat cubes in clusters ⅓ at a time until it’s all browned. Let’s have a look, shall we?

What a simply delightful video, yes?

3. Remove the meat and set aside, reserving the drippings in the dutch oven.

4. To the drippings add the onions, green peppers and garlic. Cook 10 minutes.

5. Return the meat to the dutch oven and add the next eight ingredients (except the cheese, which is a garnish).

6. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer at least 1 ½ hours. This gives you enough time to play some Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Burgertime or Galaga.

7. When serving, sprinkle with the cheese and more fresh onion, if desired.

Yields 12 servings. Or 6 hungry Texans.

Below is a scan of the original chili recipe Mom scored from Jill Root. 

Who Is Jill Root?

Jill Root was a great lady. She was the mother-in-law of my much, much oldest brother Tim. After my Dad died, Jill, Mom (Betty), Tim and I spent many Christmases together with the rest of the Root family, so I can promise you she had a heart of gold. You can read more about Jill here.

Thank you Jill for this recipe! I found a way to make my chili even better (coming soon).

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