nutritious for cowboys to rehydrate and stew up out on the
range. These days, we’ve got refrigerators and fresh meat.
So we use them. What we’re looking for here is a meat
that’s good for stewing—that is, rich in connective tissue
and fat and high in flavor.
In general, beef falls across a spectrum of tenderness,
with the relatively bland but tender cuts on one end and the
very flavorful but tough cuts on the other. These cuts
generally correspond with the muscles that the steers use
least to most during their life: So, on the far left side would
be relatively unworked muscles like tenderloin or loin cuts
(strip steak, porterhouse, etc.)—very tender but relatively
flavorless. On the other end of the spectrum are
hardworking muscles like short ribs, shin, oxtail, and chuck
(shoulder). Chuck is the ideal stew cut, with great flavor, a
good amount of fat, and plenty of connective tissue in one
well-balanced package. As the meat slowly cooks down in
flavorful liquid, all of that connective tissue—mostly
composed of the protein collagen—breaks down into rich
gelatin, which is what gives good stewed beef its luxurious
texture.
Cut and Sear
The chili of my youth was made with ground beef, which is
key if you don’t want to spend the time to properly stew
your meat. Grinding beef shortens its fibers, making it far
more tender, and ground beef chili can be ready to eat in
under an hour. But that’s not what we’re after here. Real
Texas chili is made with big chunks of meat and requires
long, slow stewing. I played around with a few different