Original Texas Style Chili

Directions

1. Here are some "no beans" recipes for you Texans. Personally, I like beans in my chili, but eat it both ways. ORIGINAL TEXAS-STYLE CHILI (Recipe from A Bowl of Red by Frank Tolbert).
2. Cook suet till fat is rendered. Remove suet. Sear meat in fat in 2 or possibly 3 batches. (Use oil for low cholesterol, less grease.) Place meat in large pot with pepper pods and as much of the pepper liquid as you think you'll need to keep the meat from burning. About two inches of water rising above the meat is usually right. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 min.
3. Add in rest of ingredients except Masa and extra Anchos. Simmer 45 min more, covered. Stir only occasionally. Skim off grease. Taste and adjust seasonings. If not warm sufficient to suit you, add in extra Ancho pods that have been stemmed and seeded, but not minced. Add in Masa Harina to thicken liquid. Simmer for another 30 min till the meat is tender.
4. Variation: Wick Fowler made his prize-winning chili basically the same way, but he did not use suet and added 15 ounce. of tomato sauce. He never served the chili on day of its conception, but kept it in the refrigerator overnight and skimmed off the grease the next day, then added Masa Harina upon heating the chili if it was too thin.
5. Variation: many people also add in minced fresh green chiles