Stewing Beef Chili

Jambo221

Hey all, I picked up a pound of diced beef not realizing you have to stew it and I was thinking about making some Chili with it. Any recipes I've found say to use ground beef, so I'm wondering should I leave it as is or chop it up a bit more, will that make it easier to cook?

Any recommendations for cooking times, ingredients and volumes would be highly appreciated as this is my first time making Chili I have most of the ingredients on hand like kidney beans, spices and some tins of chopped tomato. Thanks in advance!

Mr Magnolia

This is the best chilli recipe I've ever used. Ingredient list here, you may need to pick up a few things but it's worth it. Again, like another thread, it's from the cooking club. When I'm cooking it I'll normally double the ingredients and cook off loads for several meals. It's also great in wraps for lunch with some butter-head lettuce and some natural yoghurt.

Jambo221

Wow, that looks amazing! I might try something a bit more simple though for tonight. I don't have a pressure cooker, so how long would you recommend stewing the beef for?

the beer revolu

2 - 3 hours.
If you stew it long enough it will break down to a sort of paste or you can stew it a bit less and keep it in pieces.

Mr Magnolia

Yeah, 2-3 or 4 hours depending on your meat. Diced beef or steak pieces tends to be made with a lot of round steak which dries out a lot when cooking. I always use rib steak myself and cook it for 3hrs, falls apart afterwards.

Jambo221

Thanks for the tips! It's on the burner now, having a late dinner so in 2 hours or so I'll be able to let ye know how it turned out :P It smells amazing already!

Corsendonk

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Yeah, 2-3 or 4 hours depending on your meat. Diced beef or steak pieces tends to be made with a lot of round steak which dries out a lot when cooking. I always use rib steak myself and cook it for 3hrs, falls apart afterwards.

Not anymore, more and more supermarkets have started to use shin beef to match price points. Its actually tastier but needs closer to your 4 hour cook range.

Mr Magnolia

I was talking about butchers, any butcher I know uses mostly round followed by rib and shin.

Corsendonk

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

I was talking about butchers, any butcher I know uses mostly round followed by rib and shin.

Not everyone has a local butcher to shop in:rolleyes: your post didn't really mention that you were talking about butchers and the majority of the population shops in supermarkets.

Jambo221

Got it reduced in Spar, not sure what cut it was, but after 2 and half hours it was pretty tender. I thought I'd used enough spices, but it was still a bit mild for my tastes :P

Sparks

Easily solved.
MOAR CHILLIS!


(actually, just serve with a good topping of diced jalapenos, that should kick it up sufficiently for you!)

Jambo221

haha, yeah I picked up a jar of them earlier, hopefully there's enough in it for the rest of the pot

Sparks

Could always throw in a handful more ancho chillis into the pot and leave it cook on for a while - 20/30 mins should do the trick.

olaola

I always use cubed beef for chilli. I brown it over a high heat first and cook it for at least an hour. More, if I can be patient (which is rare!) I think it gives great flavour and I like the chunks of meat. Very satisfying.

mrsdewinter

OP, afair, Jamie Oliver is a big fan of using cubed beef, rather than minced, for chilli con carne. Every time I go to make it, I always chicken out of making it the really authentic way. It's still a great recipe, whether you make it with mince or cubed beef.

the beer revolu

mrsdewinter wrote: »

Every time I go to make it, I always chicken out of making it the really authentic way. It's still a great recipe, whether you make it with mince or cubed beef.

What in the name of all that's tasty would you be afraid of??

Sparks

the beer revolu wrote: »

What in the name of all that's tasty would you be afraid of??

Yeah, all the icky-looking bits just melt away in the cooking process and you're left with unctuous (oooh, that was fancy) meaty goodness.

mrsdewinter

True... I guess I just associate chilli con carne with mince. One of those days, tho...

Sparks

mrsdewinter wrote: »

True... I guess I just associate chilli con carne with mince. One of those days, tho...

Just make it with mince and throw in some chunks, that's what I do. The mince bulks up the gravy and the chunks give you... well, chunks