Old-Fashioned Chili
Chilli was the pot that fed a crowd on not very much — a pound of mince, a couple of tins and a shelf of spices, stretched to feed everyone at the table and half the neighbours besides. Ours went on the back of the stove on a cold Saturday and had the whole house smelling of cumin and simmering tomato by mid-afternoon. Everyone took their bowl the way they liked it — a spoon of soured cream, a handful of cheese, a scatter of raw onion — but the pot underneath was always the same honest, deep-red chili con carne.
Two things make it taste of something. First, brown the meat hard and let it catch — those dark, sticky bits stuck to the base of the pot are pure flavour, and mince that's only been steamed grey never tastes of much. Second, bloom the spices in the hot fat before any liquid goes in: a minute or two toasting the chilli powder and cumin turns them from dusty and raw into something warm and rounded that carries the whole dish.
After that it's patience. Keep it at the barest simmer for the best part of two hours, until it's dark, thick and glossy, adding the beans near the end so they hold their shape. A last spoon of vinegar sharpens everything up, and a square of dark chocolate — granny's quiet trick — rounds it out. Serve it with cornbread, and make it the day before if you can, because chilli, like every good pot, is better tomorrow.
Old-Fashioned Chili
Deep, thick and rich — the classic chili con carne, simmered low and slow.
Ingredients
- 900 g beef mince (or half mince, half diced chuck)
- 2 onions, chopped, & 2 tbsp oil
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp mild chilli powder (American-style blend)
- 1 tbsp ground cumin & 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano & ¼–½ tsp cayenne (optional)
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes (2 tins)
- 500 ml beef stock & 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp caster sugar, 1 bay leaf, salt & pepper
- 2 × 400 g tins kidney beans, drained
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, to finish
Method
- Brown the meat. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over a medium-high heat and brown the mince hard, in 2 batches — let it sit and catch before you break it up, so it colours instead of steaming grey. Lift out and set aside.
- Soften. Lower the heat and cook the onions 6–8 minutes until soft and golden, scraping up the sticky bits, then the garlic for 1 minute more.
- Bloom the spices. Return the beef. Stir in the chilli powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne & tomato purée and cook 1–2 minutes, until toasty and fragrant — this is where the flavour is made.
- Simmer low. Add the tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire, sugar & bay. Bring to the barest simmer, part-cover, and cook very gently 1 hour, stirring now and then.
- Beans in. Stir in the drained kidney beans and simmer uncovered another 30–40 minutes, until thick, dark & glossy.
- Finish. Fish out the bay, stir in the vinegar, then taste and season well. Rest 10 minutes, then serve with cornbread.
A square of plain dark chocolate — or a teaspoon of cocoa — stirred in near the end rounds out the tomato and deepens the colour; you won't taste chocolate, only a richer, darker chilli. And like every good pot, it's better the day after, so make it ahead if you can.
Tips for a deep, rich chilli
Bloom the spices
Cook the chilli powder and cumin in the hot fat for a minute or two before any liquid goes in. Raw spices taste dusty and flat; bloomed ones taste warm and deep.
Low and slow
A bare simmer for the best part of two hours is what melts everything together. A hard boil only toughens the meat and catches on the base of the pot.
Better the next day
Make it a day ahead if you can — the spices settle and mellow overnight, and it reheats thicker and richer still.
Questions, answered
Why is my chilli watery?
Give it longer, uncovered. Old-fashioned chili thickens by reducing, not by flour, so simmer it with the lid off for the last 30 to 40 minutes until it is thick enough to hold a spoon-trail across the pot. Mashing a ladleful of the kidney beans against the side and stirring them back in thickens it quickly, as does a teaspoon of fine cornmeal or masa. Draining and rinsing the beans well before they go in also stops them watering it down.
Should I use beef mince or chuck?
Both make a fine chilli. Mince is the quick, classic weeknight version. For a richer, more old-fashioned pot, use half mince and half beef chuck cut into small 1 cm dice, or all chuck — the diced meat gives a meatier bite and its connective tissue melts into the sauce over the long simmer. Brown whichever you use hard and in batches, and avoid very lean mince, which can end up dry.
Can I make old-fashioned chili in a slow cooker?
Yes, and it suits it well. Brown the beef and soften the onions on the hob first, then bloom the spices — do not skip that step — and tip everything except the vinegar into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4. If it is too loose at the end, take the lid off for the last 30 minutes or tip it back into a pan to reduce, then stir in the vinegar just before serving.
Can I make it ahead or freeze it?
Chilli is one of the best make-ahead dinners there is. It genuinely improves overnight in the fridge as the spices mellow, and it reheats beautifully. It also freezes for up to 3 months — cool it completely, pack into portions, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently until piping hot right through, loosening with a splash of water if it needs it.