Pumpkin Chili

It's that time of year when those little pie pumpkins are in the farmers' markets. They're gorgeous--and tasty, too. So it's about time for a good chili, a pot of delicious decadence to keep you warm on a fall evening. Well, that and some ass bacon in the mix. But we'll get to that in a minute.

If you know beans about chili, you know it doesn't include beans. As a Texan, I take great pride in chili being a meat dish, best served with a vinegary salad on the side. Even cole slaw. But not the mayonnaise stuff. You need a little sour pucker to cut through the chile paste. So here's the technique from our book COOKING KNOW-HOW, rendered with an autumnal twist, that little pumpkin.

First, that chile paste. Take four dried New Mexican red chiles and four dried guajillo chiles. (The guajillos are mild, a little sweet, and have berry overtones.) Stem and seed them, then tear the flesh into pieces. Put these in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast until quite fragrant, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Dump them in a big bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes to soften. Then drain them in a colander set in the sink, but save back some of that soaking liquid.

Put the chile bits in a food processor and add 4 medium garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, 1 tablespoon stemmed thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Give it a whir, adding little bits of that soaking liquid, until it forms a paste. (The whole technique of building a balanced chile paste is explained more fully in the book--this is one incarnation.)

Next get the meat together. Ours involved this little delight. What is it? A smoked pig tail with some of the meat from the rump still attached. (I love the detail of the little hairs. Sorry if it's a bit much. Meat is, well, meat. And it has hairs. Except when sanitized in the supermarket.) The guy who sold it to us (more about him here) calls it "ass bacon." And so there you have it.

I'm sure it's not an everyday thing. Go into your local Safeway and ask for ass bacon. See what they say. Instead, you can substitute 1 pound slab bacon, cut into cubes.

Then cube up 2 pounds of beef top round.

You're ready to roll. Melt a tablespoon or so of lard or butter in a Dutch oven. Add the spice paste and fry it over the heat, stirring constantly, until quite aromatic, about 1 minute.

Add the cubed bacon and beef. Stir over the heat until the pieces are nicely browned and caramelized on the outside, about 3 minutes.

Add the pumpkin and a 12-ounce bottle of beer. Bruce used Negro Modelo. You pick your own poison. Just not a fruity flavored beer. Raspberry wheat in chili? Blech.

Bring it to a simmer, stirring often. Then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer very slowly until the meat is meltingly tender, stirring every once in a while, about 2 hours. And that's the dish. It's Texas bowl food. Flour tortillas are pretty good on the side. And that vinegary salad, too.