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Pepper Belly Pete Chili Recipe Card

Pepper Belly Pete Chili Recipe

Make authentic Texas bowl of red Pepper Belly Pete Chili Recipe with seared ground chuck, slow-cooked mirepoix, Fiesta and Gebhardt chili powders, and masa harina.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 415
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Meat & Broth Base
  • 3.5 lbs 80/20 ground beef chuck 1.6 kg, seared in batches
  • 4 cups water 950 ml, or beef broth
  • 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon roasted beef base 12 g
Aromatics & Mirepoix
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 1 medium green bell pepper diced
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
  • 3 medium fresh Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 0.25 cup Hunt’s tomato paste 60 g
  • 0.75 cup mirepoix blend equal onion, carrot, celery sweated in oil
Chili Powder Dump & Thickener
  • 4 tbsp chili powder blend 30 g, blend of Fiesta light and Gebhardt chili powder
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika 6 g
  • 2 tsp ground cumin (comino) 5 g
  • 0.5 tsp dried Mexican oregano 0.5 g
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper 2.5 g
  • 2 tbsp Maseca masa harina 18 g, stirred into warm broth

Equipment

  • Large enameled Dutch oven Holds 3.5 lbs meat stew
  • Heavy cast iron skillet Sears beef batches over high heat
  • Flat wooden spatula Scrapes tasty fond from skillet
  • Fine soup skimmer ladle Skims surface oil before serving
  • Sharp chef knife and board Dices fresh vegetables cleanly

Method
 

  1. Brown ground beef in small batches over high heat in a cast iron skillet, then transfer to a large Dutch oven.
  2. Deglaze the skillet with water, pour pan juices into the pot with four cups of water and beef bouillon, and bring to a gentle simmer.
  3. Sauté chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic, Roma tomatoes, and tomato paste in the skillet. Sweat the mirepoix separately and add all vegetables to the pot.
  4. Whisk chili powders, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and cayenne in a bowl, dump into the chili pot, and simmer on low for two and a half hours.
  5. Whisk masa harina with warm broth, stir into the pot, simmer for ten minutes until thick, and skim excess surface oil before serving.

Notes

Always brown ground beef in small batches over high heat. Deglaze the skillet with water after each batch to capture rich browned drippings for the stew. Skim excess surface fat before serving.