Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Migas

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Living roughly half of our lives in Texas, and in particular spending a chunk of that time in San Antonio and parts South toward the Rio Grande and the border with Mexico, my lovely wife and I have unabashedly enjoyed our share of what is called around these parts Tex-Mex cuisine over the years.

Since becoming Primally-aligned in our food plan now pushing five years ago, we don’t often indulge in some of the most beloved Tex-Mex classics (I’m looking at you Mr. Cheese Enchilada plate), though we both hold a soft spot for a great breakfast taco enjoyed now and again.

Besides the various preparations for skirt steak we’ve shared here on the Older Bolder Life, probably the most common Tex-Mex inspired food we cook at home is Migas.

Cooking great migas at home isn’t rocket science, and we’ve not used a recipe for the past twenty years or so in making these at home, though one key element of the classic preparation has changed for us as follows.

Classically when making migas fresh corn tortillas are cut into thin strips and fried prior to folding into the egg and vegetable mixture before serving; no doubt in most eateries the tortillas are fried in some ghastly seed oil (yet are delightfully crunchy). Since becoming primally-aligned we debated how to address the tortilla issue – migas (at least for some) wouldn’t be migas without the corn tortilla crunch; there are three decent options to address this below.

One option, and perhaps the most obvious, is simply to leave the tortillas out of the recipe for those avoiding grains altogether; this prep is still delicious using that approach. Another option is to use a gluten free tortilla substitute, like those made by Siete, prepping them in the oven with a spritz of avocado oil and spices. They’re surprisingly crunchy and tasty, to our palate very close to a traditional tortilla. In the image below, Siete tortilla strips on the right look almost identical to an artisanal corn tortilla strips on the left.

Finally of course you can add a small amount of the best corn tortillas you can source; we’d never fry them, but instead spritz with oil, dust with a bit of salt, cumin, and chili powder, and toast to a crispy crunch in the oven. It just takes a tablespoon or two to make a serving of migas more interesting, and frankly, we’re willing to take the grain exposure hit for what these bring to the migas table now and again.

Our daughter is visiting from Montana again, and I just stirred up a batch of migas for the three of us. Our approach is to make this a kitchen sink sorta cook – we throw in what’s handy and add three eggs per person if this is a main meal of day event. Almost always we use a fairly large onion, poblanos, a red bell or several Fresnos, and a jalapeño or serrano chile or two as our base vegetable medley. The recipe below is modeled after this most recent cook intended to serve three, adjust according to suit your diners.

Most migas, at least those in the southern half of the Lone Star State, have a sprinkle of cheese (cotija or Monterey Jack most often) and are topped with fresh cilantro and perhaps a spritz of lime. You make the call…

Optional tortilla crisps
3-4 artisanal corn tortillas or Siete gluten free tortillas
1 tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp good salt

1 large yellow or white onion, medium-small dice
2 poblano chiles, trimmed, medium-small dice
1 red bell pepper, trimmed, medium-small dice OR
4-5 Fresno chiles, trimmed, medium-small dice
1-2 jalapeño or serrano chiles, trimmed, small dice
4 tbsp grass fed butter
9 eggs, lightly beaten
3-4 ounces grated cheese of your choice
Salt to taste

Optional
2-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
1-2 tbsp chopped jalapeños
Salsa or hot sauce of your choice
A spritz of fresh lime juice

IF making the tortilla crisps, cut the tortillas into thin strips approximately 1/8-inch by 2 inches; throw in a small bowl, add the avocado oil, cumin, chile powder, and salt and stir to coat, then spread out in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 350 until toasted, turning half way through the bake.

Prep the onion and various peppers, then melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the vegetables until crisp tender, note you’re not trying to brown or caramelize the vegetables, just soften a bit.

Now stir in the eggs and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft set and well combined with the vegetables. I often stir in just a bit more cumin and chile powder at this point too.

Remove from the heat, sprinkle with 3/4’s of the grated cheese and the toasted tortillas if using, then serve immediately with a sprinkle of more cheese and the toppings of your choice.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Gochujang Skirt Steak

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As the world begins to wake back up and we move onward toward summer (at least here in the northern hemisphere), perhaps like many of you we’re looking forward to gatherings around the grill with friends and family. Hell bells, we’re only two weeks away from Memorial Day, the more or less official kick-off of the summer season (at least up until this alternative universe year we’ve been living in of late).

Though we’ve lived in the Northern Rockies for most of our married lives, my lovely wife and I both grew up in Texas and have enjoyed the Texas food scene for years, not only its classic roots in barbecue and classic Tex Mex, but also the various fusion variations that have arisen (i.e. the Vietnamese fusion cuisine in Houston and beyond).

That said, we’ve also over the past few years become huge fans of gochujang, the spicy, fermented Korean red pepper paste that’s packed with a peppery, funky umami that’s not blisteringly spicy-hot.

I’ve written about using gochujang here with chicken and we’ve been fiddling with a Gochujang Skirt Steak off and on for a couple of years now, finally settling more or less on this version.

Many would argue skirt steak’s truest, and most delicious, destiny is to be marinated lightly, rubbed with fresh garlic, then quickly grilled to medium-rare, rested, and thinly sliced across the grain to be placed in a taco, along with a spicy salsa, avocado in some form, and any of the dozens and dozens of options that make tacos sing for you.

For most of us in the Primal and Paleo worlds, tacos made from traditional corn and wheat flour aren’t often on the menu (or at all), and I’ve yet to shake hands with an “alternative” tortilla product that didn’t make me longingly wish (or even beg) for the traditional version.

The traditional skirt steak position in culinary history duly noted, sliced skirt makes a powerfully tasty salad topper or as the protein component of your favorite bowl over a nifty cauliflower rice (or whatever).

This one is best with 12-hours or more in the marinade and the ginger grated in, though even a couple of hours in the marinade imparts flavor you’ve probably not enjoyed in your grilled skirt steak (or flank, or London broil) before.

2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed, cut into 4 to 5-inch pieces
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp gochujang
5 tbsp avocado oil (olive oil works as well)
5 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 medium red onion
2 gloves garlic, grated
1 tsp kosher salt
Optional: 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

Prep and trim the skirt steak, lightly sprinkle with salt.

Combine the gochujang, oil, rice vinegar, grated garlic, and ginger if using in a large resealable bag. Grate the onion using the largest holes on your trusty box grater and add to the mixture. Now add the skirt steak pieces and mash around until well coated. Seal and throw in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook, fire the grill, and drain the excess marinade from the skirt steak (don’t wipe off the clinging marinade). When the grill is ready, grill for 5-8 minutes (pending your skirt thickness and fire) until lightly charred and cooked to medium-rare. Rest the meat for 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.

When we have an irresistible urge for a taco (hey, we are in Texas) these are unbeatable wrapped in a hot tortilla with some quick-pickled onion, a dollop of additional gochujang, and maybe a slice of firm avocado.

See you at the grill this weekend.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Ginger Celery Chicken Stir Fry

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I don’t know about you, but during these rather bizarre coronavirus-impacted days I find myself toggling back and forth between impersonating the most innovative, inquisitive chefs in the world and not really wanting to cook a damn thing that takes longer than ten minutes in the kitchen.

For the past six weeks or so we’ve leaned more to the “tackle the complicated new recipe” side of the ledger, though as we move more toward the heat of summer (we’ve already seen some temps in the high 90s here in North Texas), I’ve been seeking out meal preps that maximize interest and flavor with the least commitment of kitchen time and effort.

There are a number of great-tasting avenues to travel to accomplish those objectives, and one of our favorites happens to be crafting a tasty stir fry using flavor combinations we’ve come to appreciate over the years.

Sometime in the past few weeks a recipe similar to this one flew through my inbox; I was intrigued by the spice profile (ginger and sambal oleck always run high on my list) and the inclusion of just a few chopped dates to add an hint of earthy sweetness to the dish.

Celery quickly cooked in a hot wok preserves its tasty crunch, the peanuts (or nut of your choice adds flavor and texture interest), and I often throw in some chopped white onion and red bell pepper too.

With average knife skills you’re looking at a 15 minute-ish prep window before cooking here (OK, maybe 20 minutes) and like all stir fries, this one cooks up in a flash, particularly if you’ve been smart and followed the principle of mise en place to get everything lined up and ready to go.

(For the Paleo hardliners out there, I have included a tiny bit of cornstarch as a thickener; at least in my kitchen, cornstarch outperforms arrowroot and other thickeners in stir fries every time, and my wife really doesn’t like arrowroot’s taste. Make your substitutions as you wish.)

I happen to be writing this while helping my wife at her work place this afternoon, and we brought leftovers from last night’s stir fry for a quick lunch; it might have even been better today.

Chicken and marinade
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tbsp + 1 tsp tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
Optional: 1 tsp sugar

Sauce Ingredients
6 tbsp sambal oelek or chili garlic sauce
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
½ cup tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch

The rest of the goods
6-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3-inches fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 large bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 celery stalks, timed, cut into ½-inch pieces (Split lengthwise if large first)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, cut into ½-inch pieces
Optional: 6-8 ounces medjool dates, pitted, cut into ½-inch pieces
Optional: 3-4 dried red peppers
1 and ½ cups cilantro leaves and tender stems
1/3 cup avocado or olive oil
¾ to 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or cashews

Prep the chicken first. Combine the chicken marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine; now stir in the chicken until well coated, cover, and throw in the fridge.

Stir the sauce together. Stir together the sauce ingredients, set aside. Remember the sauce will need to be well stirred again before adding to suspend the corn starch.

Prep the rest of the goods. Finely chopped the garlic and ginger and set aside in a small bowl or ramekin.
Trim and cut the scallions/green onions, celery, bell pepper, and the dried peppers and dates if using; combine in a small bowl. Prep the cilantro.

Now it’s time to cook. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, add the nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they’re toasted brown. Remove the skillet/wok from the heat and transfer the nuts (using a slotted spoon) to a small bowl, leaving the oil behind.

Now with your skillet/wok back on the heat, add the ginger/garlic mixture and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Quickly add the chicken mixture and cook, stir frequently, until no longer pink on the outside (and broken apart with no pieces clinging together). Note the chicken isn’t cooked through and will finish cooking with the rest of the vegetables.

Now stir in the scallion, celery, bell pepper, date, and dried pepper mixture; continue to cook and stir for 2-4 minutes until the scallions are bright and the celery and peppers are just beginning to tenderize (taste to be sure, you don’t want them too soft!).
Stir the sauce once more and then pour it into the wok/skillet; cook, stirring fairly often, until the sauce thickens and turns glossy. Remove from the heat, stir in the cilantro and toasted nuts and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Primal Mojo Meatballs

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I have to admit, I’ve been a huge fan of meatballs all the way back to my earliest childhood memories.

Growing up in our little ag-based, rural community in the Texas panhandle, there wasn’t a huge amount of variety in the meatball world back in the day – they were usually slathered in a rich tomato sauce atop a plate full of spaghetti. And our family recipes were pretty typical of the day, incorporating rice, crushed crackers (one of my grandmother’s recipes), or bread crumbs into the mix before the meatballs were formed up by hand.

The thought of fancied-up meatball recipes using a combination of meats, or the number of different sauces you see out and about today, was simply beyond comprehension back in that day.

We have a slew of great recipes we cycle through these days, often including a bit of organ meats into the mix – meatballs, well-spiced and packed with interesting flavors, are a great vehicle to sneak organ meats past picky eaters who’d never come within a mile of plate of liver (or other organ delicacies).

When something approaching this recipe showed up in my feed from Bon Appetit, we started playing around with the recipe while entertaining our adult daughter who was down for a few weeks in March from Montana. She travels extensively in her work as a photojournalist, and is particularly fond of the spices and flavors of Cuba and the Caribbean.

Ensconced fairly firmly in the Primal/Paleo camp in our kitchen, it was a simple maneuver to sub finely ground pork rinds for the typical meatball bread crumb component, and we upped the spices quite a bit too.

The best thing about this recipe just might be the mojo sauce – we agree with daughter Jess that a punchy Cuban mojo – based on sour orange and lime juice – with lots of garlic, pepper heat, and cilantro, is simply out of this world good.

Despite what appears at first glance to be a lengthy ingredient list, these come together very quickly and reheat like a charm too. Save that sauce for the leftovers, and don’t skip out on the roasted red onions – they’re great!

2 pounds ground pork (or a combo of your faves, including organ meats)

2 large eggs
1 cup finely ground pork rinds
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp avocado or EVOO oil
2 tsp kosher salt (or 3 tsp Diamond Crystal)
5-6 garlic cloves, grated
2-4 serrano chiles, grated
1 cup finely chopped cilantro

2-3 medium red onions, cut into wedges, root ends intact
1 tbsp avocado or EVOO oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Juice of two oranges, sour oranges if you can find them
Juice of four limes
1 cup cilantro leaves and small sprigs
1/2 cup avocado or EVOO oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1-2 serranos, stemmed, seeded, and rough chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
Optional: 1-2 tsp honey

Fire your trusty oven and preheat to 475.

Cut the onions into wedges, drizzle with oil of choice on a baking sheet, season with salt, and roast for 10-12 minutes until charred a bit on the bottom.

Then beat the eggs and add the ground pork rinds, cumin, oil of choice, and salt; stir to mix well and hydrate the pork rinds. Grate in the garlic and serranos, then stir in the cilantro. Now add the pork, mixing with your hands until evenly combined. Roll into 2-inch diameter balls.

When the onions have good color on their bottoms, turn them, then scoot the onions to the side of the pan and add the meatballs in the center; return to the oven for 12-15 minutes until the meatballs are browned and onions charred on their tops.

While the meatballs are roasting, into the blender goes the juices, cilantro leaves, oil of choice, garlic clove, chopped serranos, and salt (also the optional honey if using); blend until almost smooth (it’s more attractive with the cilantro in larger pieces).

Serve hot drizzled with the mojo sauce (or place a small ramekin of sauce on the side as we did in the pics); the sauce is amazing over rice if you’re enjoying a carb refeed day, or with a great cauliflower rice prep like this one, or this one.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Merguez Sausage

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Marooned at home during these days of social distancing found us searching for a bit of a different spin on the traditional Easter dinner last weekend.

Our adult daughter Jess is spending some time with us, seeking some sunshine and a taste of spring after the long, cold, and dark Montana winter. She’s a photojournalist working in the outdoor space, and after recent journeys “BC”, which translates these days around our camp to before-COVID, she’s come to really enjoy Middle Eastern flavors.

After kicking around several options, we decided to make up a batch of Spicy Merguez Sausage, using a combination of lamb and pork belly; the pork belly was chosen in part as our favorite local butcher didn’t have pork fat on hand, but some very very nice belly.

We played around with several different batches of spices, and finally settled on this fairly traditional array including fennel seed, coriander seed, and cumin seed, enriched with paprika, garlic, a nice harissa, and a hint of fresh cilantro.

As you home-crafted sausage fans know well, freezing your meats pre-grind until they’re firm (20-30 minutes) makes them handle much better, and pre-toasting spices before grinding and mixing brings all sorts of additional, deeper, and richer flavor notes.

The truly ambitious can certainly whip up a batch of their favorite harissa as well, though we used a trusted commercially prepared brand and were quite happy.

3 pounds lamb shoulder or leg, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 pound skinless pork belly, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 tsp whole fennel seed
2 tsp whole coriander seed
2 tsp whole cumin seed
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp good paprika
1 tsp cayenne

6-7 garlic cloves, trimmed and minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/3 cup harissa (perhaps more)
1/3 cup ice water

Prep the two meats then spread in a single layer on a lined baking sheet; throw in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. (See note above.)

Meanwhile, toast the fennel, coriander, and cumin seed in a cast iron skillet over medium heat (preheat the skillet) until fragrant; remove to a pestle or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Place in a small bowl and combine with the salt, paprika, and cayenne.

When ready to grind, scrape the chilled meats into a bowl, sprinkle with half the spice mixture, half the garlic, and half the harissa then toss to combine. Now grind the meats into a bowl set in ice through your small die.

Scrape the meat into the bowl of your stand mixer, add the remainders of the spice mixture, garlic, cilantro, and harissa, add the water, and mix on low speed until the mixture has combined and is uniform (and a little sticky).

While the rest of the sausage chills in the fridge, test cook a small patty and then adjust seasonings (pending how hot the harissa might be, we almost always add more).

Shape into patties (or links) or stuff into prepared casings.

Of course these need to stay in the fridge (or freezer) until cooked, and smell heavenly while sautéing until well-browned and cooked through.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Cast Iron Skillet Wings

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I’m not the least bit ashamed to admit that I’ve been a life-long fan of chicken wings, and before becoming a Primally-aligned eater roughly four years ago, had never met a wing prep that I didn’t like.

Chicken wings are an absolutely perfect hand food, just the right size for easy maneuvering to pick all that delicious protein off the bones, with a great ratio of skin to meat (if prepared well) to satisfy the pickiest grilled protein fan.

We have a house favorite grilled chicken wing recipe (dust them with garlic powder and paprika before grilling) that involves basting the flock of wings with our family secret butter and Worcestershire-based sauce, but sometimes the weather just won’t cooperate when you have the itch for wings.

We’ve just come through the rainiest first three months of the year on record here in the DFW area, and recently on day 8 or 9 of what was to be an 11 day straight run of rain, my lovely wife said it was time for wings. Figuring who the hell am I to argue when Momma says it’s time for wings, this recipe came back out of mothballs from a particularly long winter during our Montana days.

With a tip of the hat the original Buffalo Wings recipe which called for a sauce made simply of butter and Frank’s Hot Sauce, we prefer to make this recipe using either a traditional Louisiana-style hot sauce (hello Crystal, my old friend) or with a Tex-Mex bent using something like Valentina.

Oven roasting the wings in a hot oven on a base of cast iron allows the wings to cook slowly enough to absorb the flavors and fat used, yet in a hot enough setting to get nice and crispy and build layers of flavor as you add the hot sauce just a bit at a time over 20 to 30 minutes. Yep, you’ll use an entire bottle of sauce; be patient, you’re building layers of flavor that beat anything you’ll ever see at that wing eatery down the road.

These are great party food by the way, and we like to pour a batch onto a big platter, set it in the middle of the table and let everybody go to it, with your favorite dressing for dipping on the side (we’re torn between blue cheese and a creole honey mustard, with a good ranch a close third).

Roughly two pounds, wings, separated (see note)
7-8 ounces of your favorite hot sauce (see above)
2 tbsp grass fed butter
1 tbsp avocado oil
Good salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or Cajun/Creole seasoning)

Fire the oven and preheat to 475.

Prep the wings by cutting off the tips, and then separating the drumettes from the wingettes; save those discarded tips for your next chicken stock batch.

When the wings are prepped and the oven’s almost there, set your largest cast iron skillet on the stover over medium-high heat; when it’s warmed for several minutes melt the butter and oil together in the skillet.

When it’s hot, add the wings and stir to coat, then sprinkle liberally with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and then spritz just enough of the hot sauce over the wings to give them a coat. Stir the wings and throw in the oven.

Now for the next 2o to 30 minutes, until the wings are fully cooked, browned and crispy, you’re going to pull the skillet from the oven every three minutes, turn the wings over, and coat with more hot sauce (again, just enough to coat the wings).

Serve hot from the oven with your favorite dipping sauce alongside as per above.

Hot damn, these are good. And easy.

Enjoy.

 

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Easy Mu Shu Pork Cheat

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This has become one of our favorite family quick stir fries, and it has a bit of history behind it as I shared several years on ChiWulff (a fly fishing blog) –

Our clan fell in love with the classic Chinese dish Mu Shu Pork believe it or not when camping at Gros Ventre campground out of Jackson a few decades back.

It became a must-do ritual to drive up from SLC, set up camp as quickly as possible, and then beat it back to town for dinner at the Lame Duck. The little hole in the wall place was down East Broadway, past the hospital almost to the end of the road where the branch to the Elk Refuge peels off. I don’t know how many times we ate there with the kids as they grew up; we even got to know one of the waitresses pretty well one summer.

The Duck’s long gone now, a victim of Jackson’s (unfortunate in many ways) transformation, though the memory of great dinners past lingers. They had the best sizzling rice soup any of us have ever tasted, and among many other delights – a great Mu Shu Pork.

We’ve tried over the years to recreate the dish; we’ve come close but never hit it on the money and haven’t tried for years now – until this quick (kinda’ve a cheater) version came across our radar a few weeks ago.

She Who Must Be Obeyed has been out of town all week on business and I can knock this entire prep out in under 20 minutes now (after a few practice rounds), given how it’s based off using an (at least partially) pre-seasoned commercial sausage you bring to life with some minced ginger and garlic…

With even the most basic of knife skills you can chop your way through this recipe in less than 10 minutes, and then you basically just sauté everything up in a large skillet, preferably a big-assed cast iron one.

As per the images attached, we most often enjoy this one hot right out of the pan, drizzled with sriracha or a paleo version of hoisin sauce. Classically the dish is served with small rice flour “pancakes”, which you can easily sub with any of the low-carb tortillas on the market today.

1 and 1/2 pounds commercial hot Italian sausage (casing removed)
2 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, minced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
Avocado oil or EVOO
7-8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, sliced thin
3-4 ounces wood ear mushrooms, sliced thin
8-9 cups Napa cabbage, thinly sliced, divided
1 large bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced into 1-in pieces, reserve 1/3 of total
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp good tamari or coconut aminos
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Butter or other lettuce leaves

Optional
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and cut into matchsticks
Sriracha, primal/paleo hoisin sauce, low-carb wraps

To get started, mince the fresh ginger and garlic and add to the sausage in a small bowl; work in evenly with your hands.

Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large cast iron skillet over med-high heat and brown the sausage mixture well, breaking it up into a small-medium crumble as you go. When it’s done, remove to a clean plate, reserving the drippings in the skillet.

Without reducing the heat, sauté the trimmed mushrooms in the drippings, you want them to release a bit of liquid, then brown and crisp up a bit (4 to 5 minutes should do it).

Now add half the sliced cabbage, the bamboo shoots and 2/3’s of the green onions: keep things moving until the cabbage is wilted. Now add the rice vinegar and soy sauce and simmer quickly until the liquid is for the most part reduced (won’t take but 2 or 3 minutes).

Remove from the heat and add the remaining cabbage and green onions, sprinkle the sesame seeds and oil over and stir it all in.

Serve hot in your lettuce wraps (or the wrap of your choice) slathered with Sriracha or your favorite primal/paleo hoisin.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Hot Damn Tri-Tip Chili

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As much as many of us would prefer it not be so, it’s still winter in much of the country, and still soup, stew, and chili season.

We’ve been big chili fans around our camp for many years, and have a slew of recipes we always reach for. Like most of you, we have recipes using all sorts of different proteins, and a few vegetarian recipes as well, though many of those utilize legumes in higher volumes than we typically consume these days.

And while when I hear the word tri-tip, I most often think of a grilled Santa Maria styled tri-tip, with a crusty spice layer and cooked to a tempting medium-rare finish, and sliced thinly across the grain, tri-tip is a great braiser too.

This Hot Damn Tri-Tip Chili owes it’s chili magic to two key things.

The first is the simple fact almost all of the chili flavor comes from a chile puree you make right in your own kitchen, one that you can in fact customize to suit your own preferences (by varying the chiles) quite simply. Once you get this routine down a whole new world of chile (and chili) goodness will open before you.

The second part of the magic is the wonder that happens to a cut of protein that’s a little on the tougher-chew side but imbued with an amazingly deep, rich flavor when it’s slowly braised in a spicy liquid in low heat over several hours. You can have your Instant Pot – there’s no way it can touch the flavors that low and slow cooking imparts.

Don’t let the length of the ingredient list and instructions fool you, this is a very straightforward recipe and only takes 25-30 minutes of actual hands-on time if you’re handy in the kitchen.

Git ‘er done.

5-8 dried ancho chiles, prepped and cleaned
5-8 dried guajillo chiles, prepped and cleaned
2-4 dried New Mexico chiles, prepped and cleaned
4-5 pounds tri-tip , cut into 1-inch pieces
2-3 tbsp avocado oil (or EVOO)
2 fair-sized poblanos, stemmed, seeded, small dice
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, small dive
1 large onion, medium dice
6 cloves garlic (the big ones), minced
4 (or more) chipotles in adobo, minced
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes in juice
2 tbsp of your best chili powder (to cover all the chili flavor bases)
1-2 tbsp ground cumin (start with one)
1 tbsp good kosher salt (or more to taste)
2 generous tsp dried Mexican oregano
2-4 cups chicken broth as needed

Optional
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 bottle Mexican beer
More chilis!

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a small saucepan, add the dried and prepped chiles, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. When softened, puree chiles until smooth with a bit of the soaking liquid or chicken stock.

While the chiles are soaking, heat the oil over medium-high heat in your trusty Dutch oven; brown the tri-tip in batches, remove to a platter.

Fire the oven to 325.

Now sauté the onion and poblanos until soft, then add the garlic and chipotles and stir for a minute or so. Now stir in the chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, and oregano; stir for another minute or so until well mixed.

Now add the beer if using, crushed tomatoes with juice, the chili puree, and the tri-tip back to the pot, mixing well, and topping off with stock if needed to cover the meat. Cover, and throw in the oven for at least three hours, stirring every hour and adding chicken stock as needed. It’s ready when the tri-tip loosens up and begins to fall apart.

When it’s done, pull from the oven, let rest for 20-30 minutes, skim the fat, and then go to it.

Enjoy.