‘Leftover Beef’ Chilli Con Carne
Main Course
Feeds 4-6
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Medium
I adore having leftover beef. It’s so versatile and simply delicious! Whenever I can I try to roast or cook more than I need knowing full well I’ll have access to the best sandwiches and some many yummy leftover dishes to use it up.
This is one of my favourite ways to give the beef a new lease of life - so much flavour, so much comfort and a giant step from the cold beef salads or sandwiches (not that I would ever get bored of those).
The last time I made this up I actually used some left over smoked brisket. Having recently started dabbling in the finer details of BBQ, I tried to smoke my first ever brisket. A notoriously tricky task that I was actually surprised by the results. Far from perfect, but far from a disaster! I did ok! The issue with smoking brisket is the huge amount of meat to get through! You kind of have to cook a very large (and very expensive) chunk of brisket and then you simply have to get through it. When your house is not particularly meat focussed as ours is, it’s a tall task. So turning it into this chilli seemed like the best option. It freezes so well and if you’re as lazy as I am when it comes to home freezer labels, it provides the greatest surprise a few months down the line!
You can use any dried whole chillies for this. I particularly like guajillo, ancho and pasilla chillies as a mix but you can really use whatever you have around!
The first part of this recipe is making a paste - this is another great tool for your cooking! Make it, jar it up and keep it in the fridge for a total flavour bomb to add to all sorts of dishes. I make this paste with some tomato puree to keep a better consistency for storing. You can use fresh tomatoes if you like, you may just have to reduce the paste in a pan for a short while to thicken it up and cook off any excess liquid the tomatoes have released.
Toasting whole spices and then grinding them into their aromatic glory will always be the one but if you haven’t got access to whole spices, or the equipment required for said grinding then you’ll still get a great result using powdered spices - just dont worry about toasting them off first.
For the sauce, my preference is always fresh tomatoes and with kids in the house, that’s usually always doable. I prefer the freshness they give the chilli but a tin of tomatoes will do a similar job and won’t leave you wanting.
This chilli is aromatic, not too spicy, a little smokey and beautifully rich. If you like a bit of heat in your life you can easily add extra chillies or some splashes of hot sauce on the table for your guests to adjust themselves. Lime juice is your best friend with this one - add as much as you need to at the end. It cuts through the richness an absolute treat! Likewise, the fresh mint adds some lovely freshness to the dish but as with everything, if this isn’t your bag, dont worry - this is far from a deal breaker! While I am on this subject, I am far from saying that this is a traditional chilli recipe by the way, this is just a chilli Hungry Guy style!
I usually serve this proper leftover style, simply in a bowl with a spoon in hand, maybe with a splodge of sour cream, creme fraiche or yoghurt on top if I have any. Of course it would be no stranger to having some sliced jalapeños on top, being served with any salsa and/or some sliced avocado and of course with rice and/or tortilla chips!
INGREDIENTS:
400g Leftover, Cooked Beef, Chopped or Pulled
3-5 Dried Chillies (I use a mix of ancho, gaujillo and pasilla)
4 Garlic Cloves, Peeled
1/2 Onion, Roughly Chopped
3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Coriander Seeds
1/2 Tsp Fennel Seeds
3 Whole Cloves
1/2 Tsp Black Peppercorns
Pinch of Salt
1 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1/2 Onion, Sliced
3 Medium Tomatoes or 1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
200ml Beef, Chicken or Veg Stock
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 Lime (optional)
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Handful Fresh Coriander, Roughly Chopped
4-5 Fresh Mint Leaves, Shredded
METHOD:
Boil the kettle, then place the dried chillies, leaving them whole in a heatproof bowl.
When the kettles boiled, cover the chillies in boiling water and leave to one side to sit, soak and rehydrate for around 10-15 minutes until they are completely soft and nicely rehydrated.
While the chillies are soaking heat a shallow frying pan on a medium heat.
Add the whole spices and toast for a minute or two until they give off the most wonderful aroma. Immediately take the pan off the heat and transfer the spices to either a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar. If you aren’t too confident with toasting spices, my advice is always to take them off a little earlier than you think. Under toasted is way better than over toasted spices!
Once the chillies are rehydrated, retaining the soaking water, lightly dry the chillies and tear off the stalks. It’s up to you if you want to remove the seeds, they hold some heat and don’t always break down during the grinding or cooking process. I usually leave mine in (a mixture of loving a bit of heat and laziness!).
Place the chillies into the grinder or pestle and mortar with the spices and grind into a paste. When the chillies are around half way ground, add the garlic cloves and the roughly chopped onion along with a pinch of salt and continue to grind or pummel. If you’re using an electric grinder or blender, you can add a splash of the chilli water if its struggling to break everything down!
Once a course paste is achieved you can add the tomato paste and mix well - this is your cooking paste. You can batch this up well in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer.
When you’re ready to cook, heat a pan on a medium heat, add the oil before adding the onion with a pinch of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until soft without too much colour.
You can add the paste to the pan next and cook for another 4-5 minutes. As this point you should really make sure you’re taking in the wonderful aromas coming off your pan. This is where you can get really excited about your creation! Add some of the chilli water if needed to keep the paste a little moist and to stop it sticking and burning. Reduce the paste slightly but be cautious - the last thing you want is to burn it and ruin all that wonderful work you did aromatically toasting the spices.
If you’re using the fresh tomatoes, add these next with a pinch of salt and again, cook for 4-5 minutes to allow them to breakdown slightly. Alternatively, just add your tin of chopped tomatoes.
Add the remaining chilli soaking water and the beef stock along with the cocoa powder and bring the whole pan to a simmer.
Cook for around 15-20 minutes with the lid off. Reduce the sauce slightly, stirring occasionally and allow all of those amazing flavours to get to know each other.
Add the leftover beef, stir well and return to a simmer. Leave simmering for another 5-10 minutes to warm the beef through.
Turn the heat off, add the red wine vinegar and the roughly chopped coriander and mint. Stir through before tasting and adjusting the seasoning. Add a good amount of lime juice if you want to cut through the richness a little more. I quite like serving a bowl of lime wedges on the table along with a bottle of hot sauce to give the people at the dining table to choice on how to season it.
Serve it however you like!
