Traditional Texas Chili, often referred to as Texas Red Chili, is as old as the chuckwagon days. The cowboys on the trails had limited resources but a wide variety of peppers, chilies, beef, and wild game to choose from.
The key to great Texas Chili is the selection of peppers and chilies and how much to use.
My team has been fortunate to have won the "Peoples Choice Award" in a Texas Chili competition a few years back here in Austin, Texas. It was a very happy day in our competitive career.
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People's Choice Award, to me, was such an honor. To have been able to share this with so many people and enjoy it.
You can find the original recipe on the website here.
But WAIT 🙂 This recipe is the same Texas Chili recipe, but with improvements made over the years. This recipe works spectacularly in the Instant Pot.
TIP: The chili powder measurements listed below are "Texas" sized scoops. If each tablespoon or teaspoon is a little over, I would encourage it.
Making Chili using a pressure cooker/Instant Pot really improves the overall flavor profile. It speeds up the process of creating a true depth of flavor that will not take hours. The chilies and peppers maximize their potential when cooked under pressure. It's very cool if you think about it. Chili is all about big flavor with a sense of balance of flavor.
Ingredients
VIDALIA ONION
NOTE: Use what is local and in season, but if available Vidalia is my pick.
Also known as Texas Sweet 1015 Onions. The name represents the date of October 15th and the suggested date to plant the onions.
The onions are named Vidalia because they were historically grown in the town of Vidalia, Georgia. The cultivation of Vidalia onions started in the early 1930s. The different varieties are unusually sweet compared to other onions due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in which Vidalia onions are grown.
GARLIC
Traditional Texas Red Chili isn’t the same without the garlic. Garlic is such a personal decision. Do you like it a little or a lot?
I suggest using around 6 cloves. Just enough to flavor the chili without overpowering the dish.
- Beef Stock or Chicken Stock
Peppers & Chiles:
- Poblano Pepper
- Serrano Peppers
- Fresno Chiles
- Habanero Pepper
- Thai Chiles
- Jalapeno Pepper
- Anaheim Pepper
- Red Bell Pepper
- Guajillo or Mexico Dried Pepper
- Dried Ancho Chile
Dried Spices & Herbs:
- San Antonio Chili Powder
- Chipotle Chili Powder
- Ancho Chili Powder
- New Mexico Chili Powder
- Smoked Paprika
- Granulated Garlic
- Granulated Onion
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- Ground Cumin
- Dried Oregano
Optional:
- Mexican Chocolate
- Beer (preferably Shiner Bock)
Texas Chili Rules
TEXAS Red Chili Rules
- ? No Tomatoes - This is the LAW of the land. I like tomatoes in chili, but that will never count as a True Texas Chili Recipe. Sorry, rules are rules.
- ⛔ No Beans - Another LAW of the land. I like beans in chili. That's more of a Timberland chili and would never count as a Texas Red Chili.
How To Shop For Peppers
- CONTROLLING THE HEAT LEVEL
The KEY to picking the perfect pepper is to look at the stems first.
Straighter stems are less hot.
Next, look at the pepper skin and look for heat fractures. They look like little bruises. See the photo below.
Notice the stem is straight. This pepper will not be as hot as the rest. Heat level would be on the low end.
Control The Spice Level Of Peppers
The actual hot, spicy part of the pepper is the capsaicin. Capsaicin is the oil in the pepper.
To offset the burn on your tongue, use either something acidic or sweet. They both force osmosis to occur. It's like flushing out the cells in your tongue. Milk works due to the natural sugars.
Osmosis (/ɒzˈmoʊ.sɪs/) is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a selectively permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides.
Take It Up A Notch
- Make your own homemade Adobo Sauce in 15 minutes
- So many uses, chipotle mayo, marinade beef, pork chicken
- Stores in the refrigerator for months
📖 Recipe
The Perfect Instant Pot Chili Recipe
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Large Vidalia Onion
- 6 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 2 cups Beef or Chicken Stock Only fill to cover the meat and base
The PEPPERS & CHILES
- 1 Poblano Pepper
- 2 Serrano Peppers
- 2 Fresno Chiles
- 1 Habanero Pepper
- 2 Thai Chiles
- 1 large Jalapeno Pepper
- 1 Anaheim Pepper
- 1 large Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Guajillo or Mexico Dried Pepper
- 1 Dried Ancho Chile
Dried SPICES & HERBS
- 1 T San Antonio Chili Powder
- 1 ½ T Chipotle Chili Powder
- 1 T Ancho Chili Powder
- 1 ½ T New Mexico Chili Powder
- 1 T Smoked Paprika
- 1 T Granulated Garlic
- 1 T Granulated Onion
- 1 T Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 1 ¼ T Ground Cumin
- 2 T Dried Oregano
- Optional Mexican Chocolate Use the amount you like - personal touch
- Optional Beer - Shiner Bock Half a beer or so
Meats
- 1 Pound Ground Beef You can add ground pork. A suggestion is to look at the ingredients verses the meat. Find a good balance. More meat is best, yet balanced.
- 1 Pound Cubed Stew Beef Chopped brisket works as a replacement.
Instructions
Photos Of CHILE POWDERS
- Do not worry if you cannot find these chili powders. You can use what you can find in the store. The key is to use a few different ones to create a complex and deep flavor profile.I have added links to Amazon for chili powder purchase.
- San Antonio Chili Powder
- New Mexico Chili Powder
- Chipotle Chili Powder
- Ancho Chili Powder
Important: CHILES & PEPPERS _ PREPARATION
- The level of HEAT will be controlled by how you handle the fresh chile peppers.Three HEAT Options:*Low/Medium Heat (remove the seeds and the rib (Rib= the white part the seeds are connected to) Medium+ (only remove the seeds)HOT ( Only remove the stem from the chili pepper)
Creating the Chili Base
- Using a food processor works best.Start by cutting the peppers to your liking. Use the HEAT instruction chart above to control the heat level. Be sure to read the section In-Article above covering, How To Shop For Peppers - Controlling The Heat LevelKeep half of the poblano, ½ onion, ½ jalapeno, ½ bell pepper, ½ anaheim pepper to the side after cutting. We will be dicing these up to add texture to the chili later.First, add onion and garlic to the food processor. Keep the food processor on while you add all the peppers.Add the Habanero, Thai Chiles, ( I cut each in half and add the bottom half to the base and discard the top/stem half)Add to the Base, 1 jalapeno, 2 serranos, 2 Fresno chiles, half of one poblano pepper, half of the red bell pepper, half of the anaheim pepper, dried ancho and guajillo peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and slice/chop to help the food processor. Add the dried peppers. Have a towel ready to cover the top to reduce any mess. The dried peppers can give the food processor a quick hiccup. The other peppers chop up very easily in the food processor.
Making Instant Pot Chili
- The Meat: Try to use more than one cut of beef or protein you enjoy most. Venison, Elk, Pork, Chicken, Tofu, Beef.Suggestions for Cuts Of Beef:*Chuck *Short Rib *Brisket *SirloinMeat Mix: Use cubed chunks of beef along with ground beef (Sirloin)
- Turn the Instant Pot ((Saute)) feature on by pressing the button ON the front panel. Set to Normal heat. The timer should be set to 30 minutes.
- As the Instant Pot heats up cut up your beef. Sprinkle kosher salt all over the beef and rub it into the meat.
- Next< add oil to the Instant Pot. Give the oil a short moment to heat up and add the cut up beef. Save the ground beef for later.
- Sear the beef then remove it from Instant Pot and reserve in a bowl. Clean out the Instant Pot pot then replace it with the saute feature still turned ON.
- Add the BASE to the pot and cook. This will deepen the flavor and marry the flavors together and create the magic. The cooking process also softens the HEAT level. Cook for around 5 minutes or you can see that the BASE has tightened up/thickened UP.
- Add the seared beef to the pot with the cooked BASE and add the ground beef and combine/stir together. Cut up the peppers we saved to the side. Dice them up to your liking. Adds texture to the chili.
- Next< add the dry seasonings and spices according to the measurements outlined in the ingredients section above. Add the BEEF STOCK. Stir everything together and cook for 3 minutes.Visit OUR Beef Stock Stock Recipe Link Below Recipe Card
- Place the Instant Pot cover on. Make sure the plastic circle ring/gasket is installed on the cover. Turn to exhaust value to sealing.
- Press the Pressure Cook button and set the timer to 30 to 35 minutes. Make sure the Heat setting is set to "Normal" (the middle setting). And the pressure setting is set to "High Pressure".
- Once the timer is up you can do a quick release with the sealing value. I like placing a knife under the value a small bit and allow the steam to release. Once the small metal PIN drops the pressure has left the Instant Pot and it is now safe to open. Enjoy!!!!!
Video
Notes
How To Make Clean Homemade Beef Stock
Debra says
I can't wait to make this for a party! However, I have read through the recipe several times and I don't see how many pounds or ounces of meat you recommend for the amount of other ingredients.
Steven Pennington says
Recipe card has been updated. Our Texas Chili recipe is worth a look. Might give you an idea to add over to the Instant Pot recipe. Enjoy!