Chilli Con Carne

A slow-simmered, coffee-and-chipotle-spiked beef chilli with kidney beans — an Anglo-Texan hybrid recipe.

Tags
Source
Source
Recipe Info
Servings: 6
Prep: 20m
Cook: 2h30m
Total: 2h50m
Ingredients
  • beef dripping or vegetable oil, to fry
  • 1kg beef mince
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 500ml freshly brewed coffee
  • 2 dried chipotle chillies
  • 2 dried ancho chillies
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
  • 1 tbsp Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
  • 1 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
  • 2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste
  • 2 fresh long green chillies
  • 400g cooked kidney beans
Instructions
  1. Heat the fat in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over high heat, then brown the mince in batches, stirring regularly — don’t crowd the pan or it will steam rather than brown. Add the onions and stir-fry briefly until slightly browned.
  2. Turn the heat down and add the garlic. Stir and cook until the onion has completely softened, then add the coffee and a generous pinch of salt and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the stalks off the dried chillies and remove the seeds. Grind together in a pestle and mortar with a little salt and the toasted cumin seeds. Stir in the oregano and chilli powder.
  4. Add the spice mix to the pan along with the sugar and fresh chillies and simmer, partially covered, for another half hour, adding a little water if it seems dry.
  5. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add the beans, taste, and adjust the seasoning. If possible, leave overnight and reheat to serve.
Back to Recipes