Made a pot of chili the other day. Its a fairly basic approach.

There are many kinds of chili, from chili in a can to competition chili from the International Chili Society, where you’d be hard pressed to find a recipe with any hint of beans. Whatever the origins red, green or sauce chili is good food.

I start out by slicing up and frying the bacon over medium heat. As the bacon renders, I mix the spices in a bowl with enough water to make a soft paste then start chopping the onion, garlic and jalapeno. The garlic I put through a hand press and I use only 2/3s of a large jalapeno. You can always add more heat.

When the bacon is starting to crisp, remove from heat and spoon out some of the oil. The oil is hot so be careful. Fat is flavor, so you decide how much fat you want to leave in.

Saute the chopped onion with the bacon. Once the onions are soft and translucent add the garlic. Be careful burnt garlic is bitter. You want the garlic to just begin to get passed its pungent-ness. The garlic will add some depth and sweetness to the chili. Toss the jalapeno in. Stir to get them heated through a bit then add the chili spice mix. Give it a minute or two for the spices to release some of their oils, then toss in the meat. Mix the meat with the spices and bacon. Brown everything, stirring to avoid burning. Add the tomato sauce, cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the lime juice, coffee and bouillon then enough water to just cover. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

Simmer for three to four hours until the meat breaks down when pressed with the back of a spoon against the side of the pot.

The chili’s done when most of the meat has been broken down with a spoon. Leave some chunks. The fibers of the rest of the meat give a great texture and consistency to the chili. Wonderful bits and pieces that carry the flavor of the spices.

Sorry forgot to photograph the chili when it was done. Got focused on eating it. Ok, here’s where we leave the path of the true chili-ist; we usually put a dab of sour cream on our chili, sometimes with chopped onions. Then season with a little salt and if need be heat it up with some Tabasco or Dave’s Insanity Sauce. Depends on the moment.

Shopping list

1 lb bacon

3 lbs chuck roast cubed

3 T pasilla chili powder

3 T New Mexico Red chili powder

4 t cumin

1 t dried oregano, preferably Mexican 

1 medium onion, chopped 

3 lrg cloves garlic, chopped 

1 jalapeno

1 can 15 oz plain tomato sauce

1 lime juiced

3/4 cup coffee

1 t beef bouillon

Had an errand in Berkeley the other day. The trip to Berkeley was a good enough reason to stop by Looney’s BBQ. There’s a Looney’s just down the street at the corner of Fulton and Bancroft from the Institute of Buddhist Studies  which is on Durant. Last time I was there I had a great pulled pork sandwich with fries.

This time I stopped at the Oakland Looney’s on Martin Luther King Way. Had a 2/3 order of beef short ribs and KC sauce on the side.

The ribs had a nice smoke to it. The ribs were pretty big, so we cut it up into chunks for serving. I have to admit I enjoy good sauce. A nice compliment to the flavor of the meat.

When I was growing up BBQ meant cooking kalbi or strips of beef teriyaki on a hibachi. Charcoal was made locally from keawe trees. We didn’t know about lump coal. We only knew that it was great to cook over keawe. Sitting at a beach park with family and friends, enjoying an afternoon, watching the sun go down. There may be something primal about fire, smoke and meat, but all the experiences that come with it are pretty basic and satisfying too.

Did up some ribs the other day.

I usually plan for a seven hour cook, so in order to have the ribs on the counter resting at 5:00 I need to have the ribs in the cooker by 10:00. Makes for a leisurely set up. Fire started in a chimney by 9:00, cooker was ready by 10:00. There were some other things to prepare but that was all pretty easy. No 3:30am wake up like with briskets.

Ribs turned out ok. Forgot to buy apple juice so had to scramble to find a substitute. For the mop I used some left over riesling and for the glaze I used fresh squeezed orange juice. I remembered the original glaze recipe called for orange juice so I thought it would be okay to used that. I switched from orange juice to apple juice because of the citric acid. I think the juice made the over all flavor at bit bitter. Got to remember the apple juice next time. Always forgetting something.

This time prepared only ribs. No cornbread. No salad. No beans. Just ribs. Did make some gohan. And at the last minute saute’d some zucchini. That was it for greens. I was feeling kind of lackadaisical. Okay, that’s not a word I use often. But it pretty much describes bbq day.

I’ve changed how I fill the fire box. Now I place chunks of wood in the basket surround with coals, then place hot coals on top. With a full basket, there’s about two to two and a half hours for free time. Free time to vacuum or start the laundry.

Here's what it looks like

All in all a good day.

Here's some photos.