Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

• 4 pounds boneless short ribs  

• 1 pound dried small red beans  

• 3 bay leafs  

• 2 dried ancho chilies  

• 2 dried guajillo chilies

• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds  

• smoked salt  

• kosher salt

• fresh ground pepper  

• spicy meat rub  

• strong cold brew coffee   

• dark chocolate  

• brown sugar  

• 2 large yellow onions

• 1 red onion  

• 3 poblano peppers  

• 2 or 3 large red peppers  

• 6 cloves of garlic  

• 1 shallot

• 2 cinnamon sticks  

• 2 tablespoons dried mexican oregano 

• 4 or 5 cans of fire roasted tomatoes  

• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar  

• chipotle powder  

• chili powder  

• 2 or 3 fresh serrano peppers  

• 1 or 2 fresh jalapenos

• 2 cups chicken stock  

• special secret ingredient – spanish dried chorizo****  

• a dash of worcester, and a dash of soy sauce.  

• 1 star anise  

• 1 chocolate stout beer

• 2 cans of green chilies

• 2 cans of chilies in adobo 

Instructions

Take the 4 pounds of boneless short ribs (buy good ones! I got mine at  Wholefoods). Remove any remaining silver skin. Rub and cover the short-ribs in  a spicy meat rub. I used one that is called Spicy Firehouse Rub (found at  Wholefoods) also cover with smoked salt. Put these in an airtight bag or  Tupperware and let sit in refrigerator for 24 hours. 

In a pot take the dried red beans clean and make sure there are no stones. Place in a pot with 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, one small onion halved, and 1 bay  leaf and some salt. Then add a couple of cups of water depending on how much  beans you put in (2.5 cups for 1/2 pound). Bring everything to a boil and then  shut of the stove and let the beans sit with everything else until you are ready to  add them to the chili. 

The next day take the whole poblano peppers and whole red peppers, coat and  rub with olive oil and smoked salt and place in oven on a baking sheet and broil  on all sides. (flip each side after roughly 7 minutes) 

In the meanwhile – take all of the dried chilies and dry pan roast them. Roughly  2-3 minutes on each side before flipping. (If you want the chili less spicy remove  the stem and seeds before pan roasting them- spicier? Keep them in) Take pan  roasted chilies and cover with boiling water (about a cup or so) let sit for a while  until chilies are soft. 

In the same pain you dry roasted the chilies dry roast the cumin and coriander  for a couple minutes stirring them. Remove and grind with mortar and pestle.  · In a blender combine the fire roasted poblanos, red peppers, dried chilies and  their liquid they have been sitting in, the ground cumin and coriander, the cans  of chilies in adobo and the cold brew coffee and blend. Set aside. 

Dice up all of the dried Spanish chorizo into small cubes. In a Dutch over cook  down until they are fragrant and they have produced a lot of oil. Remove the  chorizo but leave the oil and set the chorizo aside.  

Take all of the short-ribs that have been sitting in the fridge and working in batches of 3 or 4 at a time brown them in the chorizo oil in the Dutch oven. Do  not turn the short-ribs until a couple of minutes. The more browned the better  flavor. Remove the short ribs and set aside.  

Dice up 2 large yellow onions, 1 large red, the jalapenos, the serrano peppers,  the shallots and diced garlic cloves. Throw them into the Dutch oven with the  chorizo oil and short rib oil and cook for a couple of minutes. Add in a couple tea  spoons of brown sugar and cook all together until things start to be translucent  and caramelize a little. Add in some chili powder, a cinnamon stick, the Mexican  oregano, and a bay leaf or 2. With more salt and pepper.  

At this point add in the blended liquid from the chilies and peppers and coffee.

Then add 2 cups of chicken stock. 

Then add the cans of fire roasted tomatoes.  

Then add the cans of green chilies  

Add a cup or 2 of the chocolate stout  

Add the rest of any other liquid ingredient or dried ingredients that are left over

Add the meat back in with the chorizo

Cook for at least 4-5 hours (but best if you cook over a couple days. For the  batch I make for the contest I cooked for 3 hours the first night and 2 or 3 the  next 2 nights) cook on medium-low!  

About an hour or 2 before serving while hot add in some chopped dark chocolate  roughly 4 squares.  

At this stage I also threw in several dashes of smoked Cholula hot sauce.

Taste and adjust any seasonings as needed. You can also squeeze some lime  juice on top to give it some acid.  

Before serving pull apart all the short-ribs which should be tender and stir chili.  

This recipe is SPICY!!!!!! Best served with sour cream, green onions or pickled  red onion, white cheddar cheese and for the brave a dash or 2 of Smokey Cholula hot sauce.  

Jalapeno cheddar cornbread waffles are option, but delicious.