Puer's Chili

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2½ pounds beef round steak (cubed, sliced, etc)
• 1 tablespoon dark chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano (not ground or powdered!)
• 32 oz can diced tomatoes
• 32 oz can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 tablespoon ground epazote
• 16 oz can beef broth

Instructions

Chop vegetables finely. Place in the bottom of a 4 qt or larger crockpot in the order listed above. You can stir this lightly if you prefer, but it is not necessary. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

Notes

I recommend placing the items in the pot in a specific order, to ensure that they are cooked optimally. I find that it is best if the onions and meat get most of the heat, so that they become as soft as possible. The beans require less cooking, since canned beans are already cooked, and the beef broth helps wash the seasonings down to the rest of the meat. I would definitely recommend stirring well before serving.

I personally prefer to cook it as long as possible, so that it becomes quite thick. Often I'll turn it back on low for 10 hours, after cooking it first on high for 4 hours. You may want to stir it a few times during the second cooking cycle, to make sure things don't burn.

If you have a smaller crockpot, I recommend reducing the amount of meat to 1-1½ pounds and possibly using a smaller onion.

You can also make this without meat and beef broth, but in that case I'd just recommend using the recipe for Puer's Pinto Beans.

I've added a tablespoon of epazote, and although I haven't (at the time of this writing) tested the flavour, epazote is extremely mild, so I expect it will have no significant effect on the taste. For more details, see my epazote information page.