I love grass-fed beef, and whenever possible I cook with 100% grass-fed beef in order to get my omega-3 fatty acids. The trick of getting the most omega-3 fatty acids out of the beef is to leave the beef fat in the chili and not drain it out.
What! Eat the fat? Yes! For one thing, the flavor is wonderful and it helps cut the heat of the chili peppers. For another, if you eat the right fats--and yes, there is such a thing as healthy saturated fats; you just have to know where to get them--there are reputed health benefits such as improving your cholesterol ratio, helping lower blood pressure, and all that good stuff. Since eating sufficient fat means I eat less sugar, this is my kind of diet.
Chili is one of my favorite comfort foods, satisfying and delicious even when low in salt. To me, grass-fed beef chili is indistinguishable in taste from chili made with regular beef, probably because I spice mine up quite a bit.
For 100% grass-fed beef chili:
Sautee in a large pot or Dutch Oven, in a little bit of oil:
2 large or 3 medium onions, chopped
Add and slowly brown on low, stirring often with fork:
3 lbs 100% grassfed ground beef (I buy my grass-fed beef from local farmer's markets, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or PCC. I'm in the Pacific Northwest. If you don't have a local supplier of grass-fed beef, you can find some sources online. Here is one source that I haven't tried yet.)
Add:
1/4 cup chili powder, or to taste (I use Trader Joe's or blend and toast my own)
2 Tbsp cumin powder
salt to taste
Mix well and sautee the beef, onion, and spice mixture on low for about a minute.
Add and stir together all at once:
1 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, chopped (red, yellow, and orange bell pepper have more vitamin C than green)
1 32 oz can diced tomatoes, including the water
3-5 cloves garlic, pressed and minced
chopped fresh or pickled jalapeno peppers, to taste
3 cans organic kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or black beans)
1 small 8 oz can tomato paste
1 handful chopped fresh cilantro
(optional)
1 can chopped black olives (optional)
2-5 fresh chili peppers of any various sort, chopped (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
a few dashes of oregano (optional)
After the chili ingredients are all mixed, mix in:
Enough water to cover all the ingredients. Mix the tomato paste very well with the water till the clumps disappear. The chili should be liquidy, not thick at this point.
Mix well, bring to a boil, and simmer on very low 1 1/2 - 2 hours until the chili is nice and thick. Don't let it boil again. You may want to partially cover the chili, to control the heat. The chili is done when it is nice and thick.
Note: About an hour into the cooking, taste the chili and add any spices you think the chili might need (salt, cayenne, etc.)
Serve your delicious grass-fed beef chili over steamed brown rice and sprinkle with grated cheese. Or serve the chili as nachos over tortilla chips with chopped lettuce and chopped avocado and grated cheese. If the chili is very spicy, cut the heat further with sour cream or yogurt.
If this recipe addicts you to 100% grass-fed beef, look out for my future recipes for 100% grass-fed beef spaghetti sauce. Mmmm...
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