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© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA
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This is a chili somewhat in the style of Chile Colorado; meat, dried red New Mexico chili pods, and little else. However, it does have a twist to it!
3 ½ pounds sirloin steaks
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 medium white onion
4 dried red New Mexico chiles
4 chilpotle chiles
1 7 ounce can whole green chiles, optional
two cloves garlic 1 teaspoon ground comino (cumin seed)
1 teaspoon mexican oregano
steak rub/lime/soy sauce
First, we'll make a chile sauce from the dried chiles. Cut off the tops of the dried New Mexico chiles to remove the stems and seeds and to expose the interior, leaving them as whole as possible. Cut the tops off of the chipotles, and cut them lengthwise to extract seeds. Set all of the chiles simmering in water or broth (just enough to cover) while we move on with the other items.
Ok, now we're going to grill the steaks! Off to a good start, eh? I dust the steaks with Fiesta brand fajita seasoning, then marinade in lime juice and soy sauce after a little fork-poking :-) Grill the steaks over hot coals to a medium doneness and set aside. (I use soaked mesquite chips over coals to add to the smokey flavor, but you can now get mesquite-impregnated charcoal; it really works great!) At this time, you can cut off the extra half-pound I specified and snack on it. This will hopefully prevent you from abandoning the whole project and just eating the steaks!
Now we'll prepare the rest of the ingredients in a (big) oven-ready pot or stove-top casserole dish (with a secure lid). Add the pork sausage, onion, and garlic, and sauté until the onion is soft.
Chop the steaks into ½ inch cubes and add to pot. Add a beer of your choice (I cook with Tecate!) I have been corrected in my recollection of the recipe at this point. I supposedly added a cup of white wine, and used beer subsequently to keep it moist. To which I responded as the Scarecrow did while pointing in opposite directions; "That way's nice!" Chop and add the green chiles.
Now, back to the chile sauce. Remove the New Mexicos from liquid (after they have softened; about 30 to 40 minutes) and cut them in half, length-wise. For each half, carefully scrape off the inner pulp with a flat knife, angled away from the scraping direction. Then scrape the pulp off the knife into a blender. Add the remaining liquid and chipotles, and blend into a beautiful sauce. Don't stick your face in this stuff!
Add the other spices to the pot, and about half of the sauce. Be careful to consider that the meat is the star of this show; err on the side of too little sauce, rather than too much! Cover and put in 300°F oven for one hour.
After the hour, test for spice and moisture. Add more or all of the sauce, if you like, and probably more beer to keep it from drying out too much. Put back in oven for another hour.
Check for doneness and moisture. (Another hour's cooking isn't out of the question.) The sirloin should come apart easily, and you should have a rich, flowing gravy, not watery. Moisten with more beer, if necessary.
Serve with chopped avacado and sharp, white New York cheese. Yow!