Beef Chilli

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Beef Chilli

Traditionally made with minced beef for years, our Beef Chilli recipe now contains a good quality joint such as Aberdeen Angus that we dice ourselves into chunky pieces and cook in the pot for around 2-3 hours. The larger pieces of meat really hold the chilli flavours and create strands that melt in your mouth.

One of my favourites, this really is ‘man’s chilli’ but women can eat it too!

Serve with jacket potatoes, rice, flour tortillas, taco shells or chunky homemade bread and a good glass or two of red wine!

  • Serves: 4
  • Preparation Time: 20 mins approx
  • Cooking Time: 2½ hours approx
  • Ready In: 3 hours approx

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • ½ kg good quality Beef (lean stewing steak, diced beef, Aberdeen Angus)
  • 2 rashers Back Bacon – cut into strips, rind removed and kept separate
  • 680g jar Passata
  • 415g tin Baked Beans
  • 210g tin Kidney Beans
  • 2 large Onions – chopped
  • 1 large Red Pepper – sliced
  • 1 large Green Pepper – sliced
  • 4 medium Vine Ripened Tomatoes – cut into quarters
  • 2 tsp Oregano – dried or handful of fresh
  • 2 tsp Rosemary – dried or 2 sprigs if fresh
  • 10 Cardamon Pods – crushed with shells removed
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Whole Cumin
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • Black Pepper to taste
  • Water

Method

Initially you will be cooking with 2 frying pans then gradually transferring the meat and vegetables into the casserole dish to cook in the oven.

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 220° c
  2. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add your beef, stirring around to coat with the oil. Fry for a few minutes
  3. Add the whole cumin seeds and mix together
  4. Add the bacon and rind and lightly fry
  5. Once the meat and bacon are browned, remove the pieces of bacon rind and tip the rest of the mixture from the pan into your large casserole dish
  6. Using the meat pan again, fry the onions and peppers lightly (together with the bacon rind) until golden brown and almost cooked
  7. In a 2nd frying pan, add the red kidney beans, baked beans and passata together with a little water, heating gently then simmering for 5 minutes until bubbling then turn off the heat
  8. From the 1st pan, remove the pieces of bacon rind and discard then tip the onion and pepper mixture into your casserole dish
  9. From the 2nd pan, tip the bean & passata mix into your casserole dish.Rinse the pan with a little hot water and then pour this into the casserole dish to keep all the flavours
  10. Using a pestle & mortar, grind the cardamom pods until they split. Remove the seeds (discarding the husk and shell)
  11. In one of your frying pans, add a little olive oil and gently fry your tomatoes together with the ground cardomon for approx 5 mins on a medium heat until the tomato skins show signs of splitting then add them to the casserole dish
  12. Mix together the garam masala, cumin, turmeric and ground coriander and add to the casserole dish
  13. Add some black pepper to taste
  14. Top up the level in the casserole dish with water if required to ensure that the meat and vegetables are covered in liquid
  15. Cook the casserole in your pre-heated oven at 220° c for approx 30 minutes
  16. Reduce the heat to 180° c and cook for a further 2 hours (this is a fairly flexible time, just make sure the chilli doesn’t dry out if cooking for longer)
  17. Check the liquid level occasionally and gently add hot water if required at least 15 mins before removing from the oven
  18. Allow to stand with the lid on for 10 minutes to rest the beef before serving

If you have left-over chilli, why not try Chilli Nachos for a tasty snack or starter.

Recommended Equipment

  • 2 large non-stick frying pans
  • Large casserole dish
  • Measuring spoons
  • Pestle & mortar
  • Serving dish (if required)

Hints & Tips

  • Cooking for this period of time releases the flavours into the meat
  • You can use minced beef but we do recommend dicing a good quality joint of beef yourself (or ask your butcher to dice it for you). Buying this way is surprisingly cost-effective, tasty and healthier rather than buying a pre-packed lower quality beef from the supermarket. Just make sure that the meat is suitable for slow cooking.