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Hannah's Go-To Short Rib Chili

Tis the season for comfort food and football! TULA Director of Operations and TULA-ATX Team Lead Hannah Avent loves a good hearty chili. and this one from Food & Wine does not disappoint in her book. She used regular chili powder because she couldn't find ancho and it was still amazing. Making your own pickled red onions is key! Serve with limes, queso freso, cilantro, guac or whatever you like. She had multiple people tell me it was the best chili they've ever had. Yummmmm BRB going to the store to start this ASAP!

Ingredients

Chili

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 ½ pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 5 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
  • 2 ½ teaspoons black pepper, divided, plus more to taste
  • 1 medium-size red onion, finely chopped (about 2 1/4cups)
  • 2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (about 1/2cup)
  • 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ cup tomato paste
  • ¼ cup ancho chile powder
  • 1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 ½ cups dry red wine
  • 1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cup lower-sodium chicken broth

Pickled Red Onion

  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 2 1/2cups)
  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Additional Ingredients

  • Crumbled queso fresco, for serving
  • Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Directions

Make the chili:

  1. Heat oil in a large enameled Dutch oven over medium-high. Toss together beef, 4 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons black pepper in a large bowl. Working in 3 batches, add beef to hot oil, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a medium bowl.
  2. Add chopped onion, jalapeños, garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to drippings in Dutch oven. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, chile powder, chipotles, oregano, cumin, and coriander; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is fragrant and vegetables are evenly coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of Dutch oven, until liquid is slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and broth; bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high. Stir in beef and any juices in bowl. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is very tender, 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours, uncovering during final 30 minutes of cook time. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste.

Make the pickled red onion:

  1. While chili cooks, place sliced red onion in a medium-size heatproof bowl; set aside. Combine vinegar, 1 cup water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring often to dissolve sugar. Pour hot vinegar mixture over onion, pressing onion pieces with a spoon to keep submerged. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
  2. Serve chili topped with queso fresco, cilantro, and drained pickled onion.

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