Pink's Grill Chili

Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. When the coals are medium hot, sear the steak for 30 to 45 seconds on each side, or just long enough to nicely blacken the outside. Let cool. (This step adds a great flavor to the chili, but can be eliminated by the shortcut minded.) It definately makes a huge difference, don't skip this step unless you have to.

Cube the steak and place in a heavy 10 quart pot. Press 4 of the garlic cloves through a garlic press and add to the pot. Add the hamburger meat, onions, chili powder, cumin and salt and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the meat is browned, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add just enough beef broth for the liquid to come up to the top of the meat. Return the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth cooks down to a glaze.

Trim both ends of the California and pasilla chilies and shake out the seeds. (Be careful not to touch your eyes when handling chilies.) With a sharp knife, slit the pods down one side at the seam so that the chilies can lie flat. Scrape out any remaining seeds.

Put the chilies in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the chilies by 3 inches. Boil for 30 minutes over high heat; the chilies will flavor the water and create a broth. Strain the chili broth through a sieve and set aside. Reserve the chilies and let them cool.

While the broth is cooking, dice the remaining 2 cloves of garlic. Place in a small saucepan along with beer and the oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beer takes on a dark green hue, about 3 minutes. Strain and reserve the broth.

Lay the chilies, skin-side down, on a clean work surface. Scrape out the soft membranes with a knife - it will look like thick chili paste - and set aside. Discard the skins. This is the point in the recipe when I ask myself if all the work is really worth it. The answer is yes!

In a blender, combine the chili paste with the stewed tomatoes, diced green chilies, paprika, 1 cup of the reserved chili broth and all of the reserved beer broth. Add to the pot of chili meat. Cook for 2 hours over medium-low heat, adding chili broth as needed to keep the mixture moist. I'm ususally having a beer at this step :) The chili should be thick but moist when finished.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot with bowls of sour cream, onions and cheese for topping. For a deeper flavor, refrigerate overnight and reheat. (If the chili becomes too thick, thin it with beef broth or dark beer). I always refrigerate my chili. I can't imagine spending all day doing this and then spending the evening entertaining guests. It tastes better the next day too!

Variations:

For a sweeter chili, increase the onions to 4. For a smoother texture, eliminate the steak and use a total of 8 pounds of hamburger. For an intriguing dark flavor, add 1/2 square (1/2 oz) grated Baker's chocolate with the chili paste.