Carroll Shelby's Chili
Submitted by fsteacher
Carroll Shelby’s legendary Texas chili with coarse-ground beef, beer, ground dried chiles, and Monterey Jack cheese melted right in. No beans, no apologies. Just bold, beefy heat simmered for 2.5 hours.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
2READY
2 hrsThe man who built the Shelby Cobra also knew his way around a pot of chili. Carroll Shelby’s recipe is pure Texas: no beans, no tomato chunks, and absolutely no shortcuts. Two pounds of coarse-ground beef (round steak and chuck) get browned in rendered suet, then simmered with beer, tomato sauce, ground dried chiles, and a wall of spice for over two hours.
The kicker? Three-quarters of a pound of grated Monterey Jack gets stirred in during the final half hour, melting into the chili and turning it thick, rich, and impossibly smooth.
This is competition-grade chili. The kind that wins cookoffs and starts arguments about what real chili ought to be.
Pro Tips
- Coarse-ground beef is non-negotiable. Ask your butcher to grind round steak and chuck on the coarsest setting. Fine ground beef turns to mush after 2.5 hours of simmering.
- Suet adds authentic flavor. It’s traditional in Texas chili and gives a depth that cooking oil can’t match. Render it first and remove the solids before browning the meat.
- Stir constantly once the cheese goes in. Monterey Jack will stick and scorch on the bottom if you walk away. Keep it moving for that last 30 minutes.
- Let it sit overnight. Like all great chili, this one tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to settle in.
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the suet or heat the oil in a heavy 3 inch (or larger) pot.
Remove the unrendered suet and add the meat to the pot.
Break up any lumps with a fork and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is evenly browned.
Add the tomato sauce, beer, ground chile, garlic, onion, oregano, paprika, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, and the salt.
Stir to blend.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Stir occasionally.
Taste and adjust seasonings, adding the cayenne pepper.
Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour longer.
Stir in the cheese and the remaining ½ teaspoon of the cumin.
Simmer ½ hour longer, stirring often to keep the cheese from burning.
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