Chile con Carne
2 lbs. dry pinto beans
5 lbs. boneless chuck, cut into large stew-size pieces
Vegetable oil for sauteing
3 onions, chopped
1/4 c. garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeños, minced
1 lb. Gardein beefless ground or 1 lb. ground beef, optional
3 28-oz cans S&W crushed tomatoes w/purée
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1/4 c. Better than Boullion beef
3 T chile pasilla, ground
2 T chipotle, ground
2 T salt
2 T adobo
2 T Italian herbs or oregano
1/2 c. masa mixed into 1 c. water
Citric acid
Soak the dry beans in cold water overnight, picking out floaters. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat oil in a pot or pan. In batches, brown the chuck on all sides, adding a little more oil if necessary and put aside. Brown the ground beef, if using; in the same pan, sauté onions until translucent, then add garlic and jalapeño, sautéing for another minute. In a large pot, combine all the ingredients except beans. Bring to a simwmer on the stovetop, then cover and cook in the oven until the chuck is nearly fork tender (4-6 hours). While you're checking the meat, if you want thicker chili, add more masa mixture. About 30 minutes before the chili is finished cooking, add beans and adjust seasoning. (At this point you can also put your clean canning jars in the oven to sterillize.) Cover the pot and continue to cook in the oven for 30 minutes. You may remove the pot from the oven when done but keep the mixture hot if you're canning.
Ready the pressure canner by putting the rack in the base, filling with about 3" of water and putting on stovetop to heat the water.
Get enough hot jars out of the oven for your first batch. For each jar, put 1/2 tsp. citric acid in the bottom, then fill with chili to within 1" of the rim. Wipe rim clean if needed, place flat lid on rim, then hand-tighten the ring onto the jar.
Place jars in the pressure canner, ideally with some space in between. Secure the canner's cover and follow your canner's directions to process for 90 minutes @ 10 lbs pressure. I have an All-American pressure canner; for me the directions are to vent steam for 7 minutes, put the 10 lb. pressure regulator valve on the valve stem; once the valve starts jiggling, start the timer and adjust the heat so the valve jiggles 1-4 times per minute.
After 90 minutes, turn off the heat, move the canner off the stove if you can and allow the canner pressure to reach 0 (zero) or, if you don't have a gauge, a minimum of 15-20 minutes before attempting to remove the valve and the cover. Have a towel laid out or rack on the counter. Remove the jars using canning tongs or silicone gloves and place on the towel or rack to cool. You may hear the lids popping as they cool - this is normal. Wipe off any grease that may bave leaked out of the jars. Clean out the canner, fill with 3" of fresh water and repeat the process for subsequent batches.
Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and chopped green onions!
