Date Night in Denver (Colorado)

Colorado is a state with very few native foods.  Of course there is the specialty Denver Omelet, the Rocky Mountain Canteloupe, and a ton of microbrew selections; however, none of them floated my boat today.

 

Since Colorado translates into "color red" in Spanish I decided to go with that!  Tonight's dinner is an authentic Chili Colorado  Let me start now by telling you it takes hours to make and is a labor if love, but I would make it again in a heartbeat!  It is melt in your mouth comfort!  I would recommend making this in the cooler months since it is more on the heavy side and the spices really warm you up!

 

Chili Colorado:
This recipe requires few ingredients but LOTS of steps.  As I said before, this is an all day project but you don't have to stand over the stove.  It's a good meal to cook when you are home doing laundry, cleaning house, or watching a marathon of Law and Order.  Here's a picture of the first items you will need to gather:

You will need 2 pounds of lean stew beef.  You can always buy a chuck roast and trim it yourself but it was on sale this week so that made it easy!  You will also need 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and one 1 teaspoon salt.   Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Add the seasoning to the meat and toss gently to coat.

Get out a Dutch Oven (large stock pot with a lid) and add the oil.  Heat on medium high until the oil is HOT.  

 

Carefully add in the seasoned beef .  Cook for 15 minutes stirring every few minutes to sear on each side.

 

Next, pour in enough water to just cover the meat.

Allow the meat to come to a boil, turn down the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for about an hour.  I checked on mine every 15 minutes or so and gave it a quick stir. 


While the meat is simmering, you can make the RED sauce.  The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 fresh Anaheim chili, 1 large onion, 1 jalapeno, and 8 cloves of garlic.  You will also need 2 ounces of dried Ancho chilies, and 1 ounce of dried Anaheim chilies.

The first thing you will need to do is seed and stem the dried chilies.  I recommend wearing rubber/latex gloves and keeping your hands away from your eyes. 

I have to be honest, I have not used whole dried peppers before and was shocked to find out how many seeds were inside.

After all seeds and stems are in the trash, wash your hands to be sure they are seed free.  Then, measure 3 1/2 cups of HOT water.

Pour over the chilies.  Let sit for 20 minutes or until they are soft.

While the chilies are resting, it is time to get to chopping!  Everything is going into the blender so feel free to give them a rough chop.  First went the onion,

Then the Anaheim pepper,

The jalapeno pepper,

And finally the garlic!

Blend the above ingredients in a blender along with the chilies and their juice.  Puree until smooth.

Pour the red puree into a separate Dutch Oven.  Add a sprinkle of Mexican Oregano and stir,

 

Simmer on low for 45 minutes to an hour.  It will look like this when finished.

When the RED sauce and the meat are finished simmering, it is time to blend the two.  Take 3 cups of the RED sauce and stir it into the meat.

 

Let the flavors meld by simmering in a covered pot for the next 2 hours.  Stir occasionally.  When time is up, the meat will be ready.  The longer it cooks, the more tender it will get.  It's up to you how you want to serve it.  If there is too much liquid, take the top off and let the sauce reduce to your liking.

 

Serve with flour tortillas, refried beans and guacamole for a true CHILI COLORADO flavor.

 

 

As for the extra RED sauce, it is a concentrate.  It can be mixed 2 to 1 with chicken stock or water to make a traditional enchilada sauce.  I put it directly into my freezer and it is ready to make this exact dish again - we loved it!