Chilli (Up North) Con Carne Version 2

I’ve been making different versions of my Chilli Con Carne for a while adding things like coffee, chocolate, smoked chilli’s, bacon, chorizo and even beer, it’s such an easy recipe to tweak and change and each different element adds it’s own thing to the dish.

I’ve tried it with a mix of pork and beef and while it worked I still preferred the meatiness of the all beef version so this made me want to try it with a big hunk of beef and that’s how the recipe below came about….I think it’s pretty much the perfect chilli so please give it a go and let me know what you think.

It really needs to be done in the slow cooker so if you haven’t got one, go buy one.

Beef skirt chilli con carne

Ingredients

• 400g beef skirt, chopped into big chunks
• 2 heaped tsp chipotle paste, I used this one
• 1 carrot, chopped or grated
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp clear honey
• 2 pieces of dark chocolate
• salt
• pepper
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 small tin of sweetcorn
• 1 tin of mexican bean mix
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 5 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• splash of water
• pinch cinnamon
• 2 or 3 of your favourite chillis, sliced.

Method

1. Dust your beef with the flour, crumble over the stock cube and season with salt and pepper, heat a little oil in a frying pan and  fry until brown.
2. Add the carrot, onion and mushrooms to the pan, and fry until soft. Add the garlic
3. Next add the herbs, spices, tomato puree,honey, tomatoes, chillis, bay leaf, sweetcorn and beans. Stir well
4. Check the seasoning and spices, add more chilli or spices if needed.
5. Transfer to your slow cooker and cook on medium for at least 5 hours, the longer the better.
6. Just before you serve, stir in the chocolate.
7. Serve with a sprinkling of corriander, bowl rice, a few tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream or some cheese.