Ingredients
Serves
4–6
Meat
- 700 g 80/20 ground beef (or 500 g ground beef + 300 g chuck cubes for better texture)
Aromatics
- 1 large onion
- 3 garlic cloves
Chilli Core
- 2 dried ancho (or 1 tbsp ancho powder)
- 1 dried guajillo (optional but ideal)
- 1–2 fresh red chillies (serrano or similar)
- 0.5 habanero, minced very fine (optional but powerful)
Structure
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup strong beef stock
Spices
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.5 tsp cinnamon
- salt
Beans
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can black beans
Depth
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup espresso
- few squares of good dark chocolate
- tiny splash of soy sauce
Method
- Toast dried chillies → soak → blend into paste.
- Brown meat hard — deep browning, almost aggressive.
- Bloom spices and chilli paste together → cook until dark red and fragrant.
- Add tomato paste and one can of tomatoes only.
- Add stock → simmer at least 90 minutes (2 hours is better).
- Add beans in the last 30 minutes so they hold their shape.
- Rest 20–30 minutes before serving.