Chilli con carne. Really decent carne.

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I made a really fiiiiiine chilli last week. I picked up some pork knuckle and beef shin at Nath the Butcher, and got to work on what was THE best chilli I have ever knocked up. I've nothing against beef mince in a chilli but if you go this route, or even buy chuck steak and chop it up into small pieces, you'll find it's really worth the extra spend.

In short,(because I'm rushing out for pizza) I browned the meat, and took the onions to a charring point to introduce that smoky flavour. Everything else was added and blipped away for four hours, well not the beans, they go in for the last 30 mins, which is when I also lifted out the knuckle and removed the bones. I like my chilli fiery, hence the sweet potato and guac, you've got to be careful with those habernero chilli flakes,  they can be a bit tongue numbing. I got the chipotles in the post from Susan in Seattle and the flakes online, from Sous Chef Click on the link if you are a chilli fan, there's an awesome chilli selection. 

This makes a huge amount of chilli, easily serving 10 or more, but freezes beautifully. 

2 beef shins, sliced into chunks

1 pork knuckle, ask your butcher to chop into thirds

3 small onions

6 garlic cloves

2 pints water

1 lrg tinned tomato

cinnamon bark (or tsp of powder)

2 flat tsp of habernero chilli flakes

1 tsp cumin

2 dried chipotles (deseeded and ground in a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar) or 3-4 heaped tsp chipotles in adobo

1 tsp thyme

3 pinch flaky salt

1 can guiness (this is no trick, just what I had in the fridge to use up)

140g tom puree

2 cans of black beans

If you're not using chipotles, and only have on hand chilli powder, try adding a tsp of proper cocoa powder or a few squares of 70% chocolate at the end for that earthy depth.