Red Rock Trail Dust And Green River Red!

[Chuckwagon]

Amigos! Taco Bell is not the Mexican phone company! Carumba…oops... I mean blimey!… don’t purchase taco seasoning in little envelopes at your supermarket! You don’t know what’s in it or how long it has been on the shelf. Make your own and adjust the seasonings. First, you’ll need good chile powder and your own home-made chile powder is much fresher and tastes better than the stale stuff purchased in a tin. So, how does one make one’s own chile powder? Mince one’s own chiles of course! Don’t confuse "chile" powder (made entirely of ground "chile" pods), with “chili” powder, a blend of spices usually containing cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt combined with ground and mixed chile pod powder. The combination makes a great bowl of "chili" whenever cooked with pork cubes, ground "chile" pods, and - depending on where you live - even beans. (Texans say anyone who knows beans about chili, knows chili has no beans!)

Toast moist and pliant whole New Mexico dried chiles, (with texture like dried fruit), by placing them on a baking sheet inside a pre-heated 350-degree oven about 6 minutes or until they're fragrant and puffed. Tear the pods into pieces, remove the stems and seeds, and then grind them into powder using a coffee grinder designated only for spice grinding. If you exhibit suicidal tendencies, mix in a Dorset Naga or a couple of habaneros.

Red Rock Trail Dust (Taco Seasoning)

6 tspns. chili powder (your own of course)
4-1/2 tspns. cumin
3 tspns. onion powder
5 tspns. paprika
2-1/2 tspns. garlic powder
1/8 tspn. (or more) cayenne pepper to fine-tune your attitude.

Green River Red Dust (Chili Powder)

Now, using your own ground chile pod powder, make some “chili” powder (for making a great bowl of chili) by mixing it with a blend of spices. This one is an ol’ Utah trail favorite.

2 tspns. your own chile powder
1 tspn. paprika
2 tspns. ground cumin
1 tspn. cayenne pepper
1 tspn. oregano
2 tspns. garlic powder
salt (optional)

Best Wishes, Chuckwagon

[Nutczak]

Thank you for sharing.

I have everything on hand listed in your recipe, So I might just make a batch today. Do you suggest regular oregano, or the "Mexican Oregano" (which is not actually oregano, but more of a tyoe of lemon grass)

I have been taking Ancho & Guajillo peppers and grinding them myself, adding cumin seed (ground myself) and other aromatics. I have not made a concocted powder with everything already pre-mixed, but instead adding by taste as I make chili or taco meat.

[Big Guy]

Thanks Chuck I have saved the recipe and will get right on it after I paint my grinder and table. LOL

[johnfb]

THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chuckwagon]

Hey NutC, Good to see you - you're lookin' fine! I'm glad you like these recipes. They are both tried and true but fail often for two reasons: First, people change around the amounts of spices and even the spices themselves, and second, many people use ingredients that have sat in their spice cabinet since Betty Boop and running boards were in style! The old red and white cans on the top shelf since 1957 are just like me...(won't work)!
The secret of this stuff is fresh ingredients. Believe me, it will make or break the recipe. If your spices are older than 6 months - bin em'. No kidding - toss them away and get fresh stuff. With oregano, I buy smaller amounts more often from a spice supplier rather than from the local supermarket. I've never used Mexican oregano in this particular recipe so I don't know how it would fare. I like to toast it slightly in a skillet to bring out stronger flavors. With the supermarket spices, one just don't know how long their stuff has been in warehouse storage. For these recipes, you need to pulverize the stuff into powder. There is actually no black pepper in the recipe although if I were allowed to give just one cooking tip to everyone, it would be to grind your own black pepper. Fine or coarse - it doesn't mattter - as long as it is fresh. Nutc, how about writin' back after you've made a batch and let me know how it worked for you? Oh, one more thing... Red Rock Trail Dust is marvelous in sausage!
Best Wishes, Chuckwagon

[Chuckwagon]

Hey John,
Have you seen Big Guy's grinder and table top yet? And now he says he's going hunting before he cleans 'em up!
While he's gone, should we sneak over to his house with some industrial molecular acid and power stainless steel wire brushes and clean his grinder? I'm afraid the table should be buried to prevent contagion!

Chuckwagon

P.S. John, do you make a good batch of chili?

[Ianinfrance]

And when you've made Chuckwagon's excellent chili powder why not try Uncle (Dirty) Dave Drum's excellent recipe for a bowl of red - as modified by me.

Ian's Chilli

900 g beef; cubed
350 g lean pork; cubed
1 1/2 large onions
1 med green corne de boeuf peppers; seeded
2 1/2 ancho peppers; seeded and ground
1/2 tablespoons swiss marigold powder
1 1/2 bay leaf
4 tablespoon chili powder; added during frying
5/6 can old el paso chopped green chile
250 g tomato concassee; nominal - jar
1/2 litre v8 or house brand veggie juice
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 2/3 tablespoons cumin; parched
100 ml strong coffee -=or=-
1 1/4 teaspoon nescafe
5/6 tablespoons cocoa
5/8 stalk celery w/leaves
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon; use caution
1 tablespoon chili powder; added during cooking
1/4 can serrano chiles escabeche; rinsed & chopped
75 g lard; divided
1 teaspoon Salt

NOTE: All measurements are approximate! Chili powder - I use home made

Parch anchos. When soft, split to remove seeds, tear up, put into grinder.
Parch cumim, add to spice grinder. Action the grinder a bit to reduce
contents to a manageable texture. Add Oregano and dehydrated garlic and
grind fine. Chop onions and celery in magimix.

I use Dave Drum's 2 pan method for my chilli. A large non stick skillet to
browning the meat and a stainless steel pan for cooking the brew. Put V8
juice, coffee, bay leaf, stock powder and the ground spices in the
saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Stir in cocoa and let
simmer.

Put some lard in the skillet and add the finely chopped onion and celery.
Heat over high heat, then reduce and allow to sweat while mincing the
meats.

Assemble mincer with the coarse (6mm) plate. Mince all the meats together.

Put enough chili powder in a bowl, ready to add in 2 tbs lots while
browning each batch of meat.

Scoop the softened vegetables into the saucepan and add some more lard to the skillet. When really hot, add about a batch of 600 gms meat. Stir over maximum heat, adding a couple of tbs of chile powder as soon as possible. When the meat has been lightly browned tip it into the saucepan, and stir it into the sauce. Repeat until all the meat has been added. Keep simmering.

Now deseed the hot green chiles, and put them into a chopping bowl. Deseed the corne de boeuf peppers cut into chunks and add them in turn. Chop the lot fairly finely. Add to the pot, together with the jar of tomatoes. Add salt. Bring to the boil again and simmer for a couple of hours.

Test seasoning, and some further chile powder. Simmer till ready. About 15 minutes before serving, add a little more chile powder to "freshen" the
flavours, together with the cinnamon to blend the flavors in the chilli
and smooth off any rough edges. It will *not* add a cinnamon flavor to your pot... unless you add too much. 1/8 tsp is safe.

It is not correct to add beans to a chile, but if serving for a party, it
can make life easier. Stir in a couple of large cans, just before adding
final seasonings.

Yield: 8 servings

[saucisson]

1 tablespoon chili powder; added during cooking
1/4 can serrano chiles escabeche; rinsed & chopped

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon; use caution

Nasty stuff cinnamon


DAve

[Iamarealbigdog]

Hmmmmm Chili....

Sorry guys my butt is still very sore from last years three time a week fine tuning the Fire Roasted Hot Chili

Best in Canada....

[Chuckwagon]

Hey Ian,
That stuff looks amazing! Can't wait to try it. Thanks.

Big Dog, How does one go about casually coolin' a conflagrated colon? By applying a complicated, concentrated, compound or a non-combustible composite?

Chuckwagon

[Iamarealbigdog]

Air Dry....



Social life has been a little complex....