The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

(Nandana) #1

only in the meat that you sear? Don’t sweat it. Most of those
flavorful compounds are water-soluble, meaning that there’s
plenty of time for them to dissolve and distribute themselves
throughout the chili as it cooks.
We already know how to make the most of chiles, so I
won’t bang your head against it again. OK, maybe one last
time:




  1.  Use fresh   dried   chiles, not chili   powder.


  2. Toast the chiles, then simmer them in liquid and,
    finally, blend them to prevent any grittiness in the final
    product.


And . . . that’s about it. Beef, chiles, and time are all it
takes. I occasionally add an onion and perhaps a few cloves
of garlic that I sauté in the pot after braising the beef. If I’m
feeling feisty, I may also add a few spices from the rack:
cumin, cinnamon, allspice, a bit of dried oregano—all are
good in small quantities, but totally optional (Texans, please
don’t kill me!).
The only question left is how to stew the meat. Ideally,
you want to cook the meat at as low a temperature as
possible (to avoid causing undue muscle fiber contraction)
while still softening its connective tissues. The easiest way
to to this is to use a very large, heavy pot with plenty of
surface area for evaporation (this helps limit the chili’s
maximum temperature) and to use as low a flame as
possible on the stovetop or, better yet, put the pot into a
low-temperature (200° to 250°F is good) oven, which will
heat more gently and evenly than a burner.

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