Restaurant Recipes
Chasen's Famous Chili
Liz Taylor had it shipped to every set for lunch - that's how popular Chasen's chili has been with the Hollywood set.
Prep: 20 min | Cook: 1 hr 30 min | Yield: serves many
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound dried pinto beans
- 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomatoes
- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
- 3 cups coarsely chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 2 pounds beef chuck, coarsely chopped*
- 1 pound pork shoulder, coarsely chopped*
- 1/3 cup Gebhardt's chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Farmer Brothers ground cumin**
Instructions
- Rinse the beans, picking out debris. Place beans in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cover with lid and let stand one hour. After one hour, drain off liquid and discard.
- Rinse beans again. Add just enough fresh water to cover the beans. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered, for one hour or until tender.
- Stir in tomatoes and their juice and let simmer five minutes.
- In a large skillet, saute bell pepper in oil for five minutes. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and parsley. Add mixture to bean mixture.
- Using the same skillet, melt the butter and saute beef and pork chuck until browned. Drain. Add to bean mixture along with the chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin.
- Bring mixture just to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more or to desired consistency. Chili should not be too thick - it should be somewhat liquid but not runny like
soup. Skim of excess fat and serve.
Notes
* Chasen's used the best beef chuck, center cut, trimmed completely of fat. The restaurant used a special meat grinder, but for the home cook, meat chopped into one-quarter to one-half-inch chunks is much better than ground meat for this chili.
** Sometimes cumin seed is used in place of the ground cumin. It is a matter of personal preference.
You can freeze this chili for several months. When reheating refrigerated leftover or frozen chili, add a few tablespoons of water to regain proper consistency.
Attribution
Recipe source: Chasen’s – Where Hollywood Dined, by Betty Goodwin, published by Angel City Press, 1996