Meccanica Kitchen Signature Chilli
Serves 4 - 6
500g mature beef rib (or mature beef mince)
200g pork mince
2 medium to large red onions
2 400g tins chopped tomatoes (or roast off 800g tomatoes – course sieve the skins & seeds out)
5cm of sun-dried tomato paste
8 garlic cloves
6 fresh chopped birdseye type chilli
3 dried ancho chillies (or one ancho grande)
3 dried guajillo peppers (or one grande)
12 small dried birdseye chillies
2 dried chipotle chilli
1 level tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp Mexican oregano (standard oregano will suffice but won’t have the ‘pop’.)
2 good beef stock cubes
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 level tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp smoked paprika
Pinch of cinnamon
½ tsp marjoram
1 - 2 tin drained kidney beans (if wanted)
Sea salt, Ground black and white pepper
Ask your butcher to strip the rib/s and mince it or strip the beef rib/s and chop then mince or pulse in small amounts in a food processor. Keep the bone/s.
Put all the dried peppers into ½ cup hot water for 20 minutes. Cut the stalks out and blitz everything in a food processor until you have a smooth slurry – check it’s not too bitter – add a little sugar if so.
Bang a blob of oil or a smidgen of lard in a thick bottomed pan (preferably a casserole) on a high heat and add in the bone for 5 minutes, then the beef and pork. Don’t crowd the pan (remember how unpleasant a packed disco dancefloor is? Everything sweats…). Let the fat render off and stir meat to a nutty brown.
Dice the onions, fresh chillies and garlic (although garlic is always better crushed but it may catch).
Lift out the meat and bone/s with a slotted spoon, turn down the heat and fry the onion for 15 minutes then add the tomato paste, garlic, marjoram, cumin seeds, ground cumin, cayenne pepper and oregano for 3 minutes.
Add the meat, bone/s, tinned/roast tomatoes, chilli slurry, vinegar, crumbled stock cubes, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir.
Put on a tight lid and cook on an extremely low heat (over a diffuser plate to prevent catching) or in a 130 C oven for 3 hours.
If you like beans, put these in drained for the last 20 minutes. Remove the bones.
Serve with a baked potato or corn on the cob, corn bread or taco shells.
If taco shells - aggressively chop an iceberg lettuce and construct your taco with lettuce, then chilli then salsa then guacamole then grated cheese and some yoghurt – eat without embarrassment.