Low-fat texas chili

bulletheaded

New member
Looking for a cheap, good-tasting way to get a lot of animal protein in you, without much fat?

I came up with this. I'm going through how I bought it and where so you can get the low price I got.

At Sam's Club, they have ten-pound tubes of 90% lean ground beef. (this will be reduced even further-keep reading) for about $20.00. Pick up one of those. Also grab:

* a big container of chili powder, the quart-looking one. About five bucks.
* same sized container of cayenne pepper, *if* you like heat to your chili
* cumin. You don't need a giant container of this. if they don't have it get it at the regular grocery store.
* 12 pack of tomato sauce. That's about five bucks.

The rest of this you're going to do to your own taste. It's hard to mess up if you keep tasting as you go.

Get a big stock pot and throw half the tube of ground beef in it, freeze the rest or whatever you want. I cut it into individual pounds and freeze.

Brown the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula as you go, into small pieces. When it is fully browned, drain the fat off which will also go with a bunch of water. You will want to rinse it at this point, to cut the fat down a great deal further. This is not a freaky thing to do, I didn't invent it. It's just a much cheaper way to eat lean ground beef than buying the super-lean shit for a trillion dollars an ounce. If you have a big colinder, throw the ground beef in that and rinse it so every part of the beef is rinsed for a few seconds. You don't want to massively overdo it or it washes more flavor out.

Put the ground beef back in the stock pot and start adding cans of tomato sauce until it visually looks good to you. It doesn't matter how much, it should be as much as you think is appealing. Then start adding salt, and add salt until the saltiness is right for you, by tasting it. Do the same thing with the cumin, which is a vital ingredient for it to really taste right, at least if you asked me. Then do the same thing with the chili powder. I like mine really robust and intense, but not everyone does. At that point, if you like heat, start putting in cayenne a couple tablespoons at a time. Once it's as hot as you like, turn the heat down to low and simmer it for at least three hours, and longer is fine if you have time. Stir periodically, maybe every half hour. Add water if it gets too thick.

If you're trying to eat clean, you're going to be best off eating this with fresh chopped onion as the only garnish. If you're wondering where the beans are-- real chili doesn't have beans, but if you like beans, throw them in to taste or to match your nutritional needs. People put cheese in it, and crackers, that's up to you. I wouldn't.

That's about the cheapest meat protein you're going to eat. It has almost no fat, tastes fantastic, and what carbs are in it come from tomatoes and spices, not sugar or processed flour or something like that. If you like chili, and I love it-- I recommend this recipe highly. It keeps in the fridge just fine for a week or more... but you could freeze portions if you wanted to.
 
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon bacon bits
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese


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DIRECTIONS
Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.
 
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