The real McCoy

I made Chili Colorado this weekend with the Chimayo chili from the El Potrero Trading Post, following a recipe on their website.

The "Colorado" refers to the color of the dish, not the state. It isn't difficult, but the sauce recipe has several steps. First, they recommend soaking the raw powder in water for 30 minutes. 

Then make a simple brown roux with minced garlic, oil and 2 tablespoons of flour.

Add the wet chili powder...

And spices: cumin, salt, oregano and a dash of red vinegar. At this point, it still tasted pretty harsh, but a half hour of slow simmering mellowed it out. You can use it as the base for many Southwest dishes like huevos rancheros, and freeze the extra for later.

I browned onion, green peppers and thin sliced chuck steak. Usually I put jalapenos and canned tomatoes in a stew like this, but the sauce was already quite strong and flavorful.

The meat goes in and simmers slowly for several hours.  Tough old chuck steak is one of the best meats for stewing, but it helps to have a heavy, cast iron braising pan. You could also do it in a crock pot. After 4 hours, transformed into a rich meal with tortillas and whole pinto beans.