When I make chili, I often come to a moment when I wish I had some corn flour around to thicken it just a bit, and to add a little flavor. Well, I got to thinking that Fritos, or tortilla chips for that matter, are made of corn, and they’d do the same thing. I’ve had chili served on a bid of Fritos at the Atomic Cafe in Santa Fe (chili pie) which was pretty good. So why not put the corn chips in as an ingredient? Then I got to thinking about the best chili I knew. Don’t hate me, but it’s Hormel’s. In a can. So I wondered if I might find a good copycat recipie on the web, which I did at Food.com. Surprise ingredient…a cup of crumbled Fritos. Great minds, and all that.
Of course, having found a recipe, I totally ignored it. Except for the Fritos.
- 1.5 lbs ground beef – I like 80%
- 2 medium Spanish onions – chopped
- 4 cloves garlic – minced
- 2 14.5 oz cans of kidney beans (with the liquor)
- 1 jar medium salsa (because I had it lying around. If not, then a can of diced tomatoes is fine)
- 2 heaping tbs chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- i cup Fritos chips – lightly pulverized
- 16 oz water
Makes about a gallon.
Mash the ground beef flat in a 12 inch skillet or something. Brown the beef over medium heat until it’s actually browned on one side. That means not to turn it over after you mash it for at least five minutes. Then drain off the fat, break it up finely and put it in your big pot.
While the beef was browning, you were cutting up the onions and garlic, right? Return the fat to your frying pan and saute both for about five minutes or until they’ve lost their bright color. A little browning wouldn’t hurt here either.
Add the onions, garlic, kiney beans, salsa or tomatoes, and the water to the pot. add in the spices.
Measure out a cup of corn chips, which are pound for pound the most expensive ingredient in this chili, and crumble them up until they’re pretty fine. I used the handle of an ice cream scooop and a pyrex cup as a mortar and pestle.
Brint it up to a gentle boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and let it cook for at least an hour. Gentle heat will break down the ground beef to make it tender, so there’s no benefit to cooking it on a higher setting.
I like a spoon of sour cream on top of my chili, and maybe a sprinkling of cheddar.
This turned out to be one of the best chilis I’ve made, so I’m going to have to make it again so see if it was just a fluke.
By the way, some folks may quibble about tomatoes or beans in chili, but I like them there. On the other hand, cinnamon has no place in it, ant that’s just weird.