Tailgate Thursday (Indiana already? Edition)

During my unexcused absence last week it appears that you folks delved into a discussion of the merits of the “Texas Style” Chili dog that is neither from Texas, nor invented by a Texan.  Of course when I’m in Tamaqua, and in the mood for a Hot Dog I frequent the “Chili Dog”, and get mine with just mustard.  Regardless, ask and ye shall receive, Chili Dogs in the manner of North East Pennsylvania…

Head on over to Kitchen Encounters to get the full story on this reciepe, as well as other pictures and content.

For 4 cups of Texas Chili Sauce (enough for 16 hot dogs):

2  tablespoons corn oil

1  pound London broil (sometimes labeled as bottom round steak), no subsitutions

8  ounces yellow or sweet onion (8 ounces after trimming and peeling)

4  ounces celery stalks

1  garlic clove (about 1 teaspoon minced garlic)

1/2  cup ketchup

1/2 cup chili sauce

2  tablespoons yellow mustard, no substitutions

2  tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce

1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Step 1.  Trim the London broil of all visible fat and cut the meat into 1"-1 1/2" chunks/cubes. PLEASE do not substitute ground beef in this recipe!  Even America's test kitchen comments on this in their book, stating:  Processing the steak gave it an almost shredded texture, making it much better than just using ground beef. This is one of the things that makes this recipe so authentic!

Step 2.  In work bowl of food processor fitted with a steel blade, grind the chunks of London broil, using a series of 30-45 on-off pulses.

Step 3.  Coarsely chop the onions into large, 2"+ chunks and pieces.  Place them and the garlic cloves the workbowl of processor fitted with a steel blade.  Using a series of on-off pulses, finely mince the onion.  My processor did all 3 pounds of onion in one batch and 30 on-off pulses.  In this instance, you want the onion to be as finely minced as possible without pureeing it.

Step 4.  Coarsely chop the celery stalks into large, 2"+ pieces and place them in processor fitted with a steel blade.  Using a series of on-off pulses, finely mince the celery.  My processor minced all of the celery in one batch using 20 on-off pulses.  In this instance (just like the onion), you want the celery to be minced as finely as possible without pureeing it.

Step 5.  Before you process the meat and vegetables, place your stockpot on the stove and add the corn oil.  If you are making just 4 cups of Texas chile sauce, use a 4-quart stockpot.  Today, I'm using a 16-quart chef's pan w/straight, deep sides to prepare 22 cups of chili sauce.  As you process the meat and vegetables, add them to the pot as you work.  Using a large spoon, thoroughly combine all ingredients, and;

Step 6.  Over medium- medium-high heat, cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until the meat has lost all of its red color and is steamed through.  Keep your heat adjusted so that at no time, no browning occurs.  Continue to cook until almost no moisture/liquid remains in the bottom of pot.  For the large quantity, this takes about 50-60 minutes.  For 4 cups, this will take as little as 10-12 minutes.

Step 7.  In a measuring container or mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, chili sauce, yellow mustard, cayenne pepper sauce, Worcertershire sauce, chili powder and ground cloves.  Stir until smooth and uniform in color.  You can do this while the meat is cooking.  When almost all of the moisture/liquid has evaporated from the meat, stir the sauce mixture into the meat mixture.

Step 8.  Adjust heat to a very gentle simmer.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.  For the large quantity, this takes about 30-40 minutes.  For the 4-cup batch, this takes about 20 minutes.  Turn the heat off, partially cover the pot and allow the mixture to steep and cool, 1-2 hours, to allow all of the great flavors to marry.

Step 9.  This not an official step and I can't tell you how or in what order you want your Texas chili dog topped, but I highly recommend:

Happy eating, beat Indiana.