Photo courtesy of Westchester Culinary Society
Add a little kick to your Super Bowl eats lineup with this flavor-packed brisket chili recipe from Westchester Culinary Society chef Geoff Rudaw.
Every cook has a go-to recipe for chili, but on a big day like Super Bowl Sunday, why not step up your chili game and make it the star of the show? Westchester Magazine has obtained the exclusive recipe for show-stopping brisket chili from CIA-trained chef, Geoff Rudaw, who creates kitchen magic with the Westchester Culinary Society, a fine-dining private-chef service based in Pelham. He learned the deets from fellow chef, German Villatoro, back in the day when they manned the stoves together at Tequila Park at Manhattan’s Hudson Hotel.
Chef Geoff stayed true to the original recipe, making a minor tweak here or there to give it his own personal touch. “This is my all-time favorite chili recipe,” he says, citing “incredible depth of flavor, the texture of the brisket is amazing, and it has an incredible savory finish.” Chef Geoff suggests it be enjoyed with steaming white rice, tortilla chips, shredded cheddar, minced raw Spanish onions, and chopped scallion greens.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
Brisket – 5 pounds
Dark chili powder – 1/4 cup
Pasilla chili pepper paste (ancho or mulato peppers are good substitutes) – 1/2 cup
Cayenne or Espelette pepper – 1 teaspoon
Canola oil – 1/4 cup
Onion, medium dice – 3 pounds
Garlic, minced – 1/4 cup
San Marzano tomatoes, canned – 3 pounds
Tomato juice – 1 quart
Chicken stock or broth, low/no sodium – 2 quarts
Pumpkin seeds, toasted & ground – 1/4 cup
Sesame seeds, toasted & ground – 2 tablespoons
Black peppercorns, toasted lightly & finely ground – 1.5 teaspoon
Cumin seed, toasted & ground – 2 tablespoon
Diamond Kosher salt – 1/4 cup (then, to taste)
Fried corn tortilla chips – 1 pint
Method
Remove seeds and stems from dry Pasilla chilis, toast in 225-degree oven for 2 minutes, rehydrate with hot water, and let sit for 5 minutes. Puree to a fine paste, and reserve.
Trim the brisket and remove most of the fat leaving just enough for rendering purposes. Marinate with the chili powders, paste, and half of the oil for 6 hours.
In a heavy stainless-steel pot, turn heat to high, add the remaining oil, and bring to smoking point. Begin searing the brisket, letting it get a good brown crust.
When all the meat in the pot is brown, turn heat down to medium, add the onion and garlic, and sweat till translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir constantly.
Add toasted spices and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a light simmer. Cook down for about 2 hours and stir constantly to preventing from scorching.
When the meat has reached a soft texture, put the crispy tortilla chips in the blender, add an 8 oz ladle of chili cooking liquid, and puree. Add pureed tortilla back to chili, stir well, let come to a simmer for 2 minutes, and turn off heat.
Adjust seasoning if needed, remove from pot, and let cool or enjoy immediately.
