[Ron_L]

Also from the recipe section.

Saiko's Killer Chili
Recipe Number: 214
Contributor: Saiko
Serves: 10-12 servings
Calories Per Serving: NA
Preparation Time: NA
Difficulty: NA

Ingredients:
1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1/4" strips (width-wise)
4 medium onions, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic (depending on how big) minced
2 28oz cans whole tomatos, chopped
4 lbs your favorite meat (I use 3 lbs beef and 1 lb pork)
2 12oz cans tomato paste
6 cups water
6 to 7 tbsp fresh ground ancho chilis (or any mild chili)
1 to 3 tbsp fresh ground arbol chilis (or any hot chili)
2 4oz cans whole green chilis, chopped
3 1/2 tsp fresh ground cumin
2 tsp mexican oregano
5 tsp salt
3 15oz cans pinto beans (Optional!, purists can omit)

Cooking Instructions:
Normally when I cook I chop everything before I start, but with this recipe its much faster to chop as you go along. I can get prep time down to about an hour doing it that way.Here is the method I use: Cut a pound of bacon in half down the middle, freeze half for your next batch of chili. Cut the remaining 1/2 pound into 1/4 in strips and start frying in a big ass pot. Meanwhile, chop 4 onions and mince 3-4 cloves of garlic. Once the bacon is crisp, remove bacon from pot and save it in the fridge, we will use it later Saute the onions and garlic in the bacon grease. Meanwhile, chop the 2 cans of whole tomatos, discard the juice. Pour the onions, garlic (and all that grease) into a bowl, and now start cooking the meat in the same pot. Meanwhile, start grinding all those chilis and cumin in a coffee grinder. Once the meat is done, I dump it into a big strainer to get the grease out (all the grease from the bacon is going back in, so that's plenty of flavor for me, it's up to you if you want to drain the meat). Now, dump the meat back into the pot, and mix in the onions, garlic and bacon grease. Add the chopped tomatos, tomato paste and water and mix well. Add the canned green chilis, the oregano, cumin, and salt. Now add the ground chilis (start with 6 tbsp of ancho and 1 tbsp arbol chilis and taste it after it's mixed well. You can bump either one of the amounts depending on your taste. My wife doesn't like any hot chilis, and I like a lot) Bring to a boil and simmer for about 2 hours, adding water as needed to keep consistency. Add the bacon you saved and the pinto beans (if desired) and cook 1 more hour, then serve.

Serving Suggestions:
To grind ancho chilis, get yourself a cheap coffee grinder (don't even think about using the same grinder as your coffee, you'll NEVER get the taste out of there). Some people recommend drying the anchos in the oven before grinding, but I just tear them into small pieces and grind them fresh (dicarding the stems and seeds) If you can't find anchos, you can use any mild child such as New Mexico, etc. For hot chilis, I prefer "chili de arbol", but any hot chili will do. Discard the step sections and the seeds. Try to use fresh whole cumin and grind it also, it is much more flavorful than pre-ground.

This one and the Mofo chile in the post above are both excellent