pieces, it was apparent that the last one was the winner. It
provided little bits of nearly ground beef that added body
and helped keep the chili (and my marriage) well bound
while still providing enough large, chunkier pieces to give
textural interest.
There are plenty of beef cuts that are great for stewing
(see “Stewing Beef,” here), but for my chili, I decided to go
with robust, beefy short rib.
As anyone who’s ever cooked ground beef knows, it’s
nearly impossible to properly brown a large pot of it. It’s a
simple matter of surface-area-to-volume ratio. Ground beef
has tons of surface area liquid and fat can escape from. As
soon as you start cooking it, liquid begins pooling in the
bottom of the pot, submerging the meat and leaving it to
gurgle and stew in its own gray-brown juices, which self-
regulate its temperature to 212°F, far too low for flavorful
browning to take place. Only after its juices have completely
evaporated can any browning action occur. The sad truth?
With ground (or, in our case, finely chopped) beef, you
have to settle for either dry, gritty meat or no browned
flavor.
nandana
(Nandana)
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