Buffalo Chili

Buffalo Chili

Not being able to replicate Esther's chili, this is an homage to her as well as South Dakota in general – hence the buffalo. Buffalo is getting easier to find, if a tad on the expensive side, but any meat will work, regular ground beef, turkey, and a finely diced tri-tip roast is also excellent, but may cost more than the buff. Even better news is that buffalo are making a strong come back, so there's no reason to feel guilty about munching on one in this century, though they are majestic beasts and I highly recommend a trip to Custer State Park in SD to see them on the hoof. My wife and I had little money at the time so it was nice to pack a lunch, drive out to the wild life loop in Custer and sit on the hood, eating lunch and the herds walked by – now that is quality time.

To be honest I rarely measure, preferring a “shoot-look-shoot” approach to cooking, that is to say I add and taste as I go along. I'll include a recipe for you to follow, but I highly advise, especially when adding spice, to add a bit and taste. This should be common sense, but I have found folks will take recipes as gospel and plop in the entire tablespoon of ground ghost pepper thereby rendering the dish inedible – even the coyotes won't take a chance with that. Salt is another one that people tend to dump in, probably because they see some schmuck chef on TV dump a handful of kosher salt in a dish and say it isn't that much, it looks like a lot because the grains are bigger, not willing to admit the dish is now inedible. Bottom line, taste all your spices so you have an idea of how strong they are, then start small and work your way up tasting as you go. Also, if you skipped this bit and went right to the recipe and it is way too strong, it is because you are an idiot. Just sayin'.

I added some non-typical things to the brew, including a can of original Rotel and a couple shots of whiskey, because the alcohol helps the tomato in the Rotel and the tomato paste release more flavor and the taste of the whiskey adds a nice undertone. I also changed up on the beans using dark and light kidneys and pintos, mainly because I really like pintos. You could be bold and even toss in some black beans, they work out well in most anything calling for beans. In fact eventually we'll talk beans exclusively because they are tasty (except for nasty Limas) and a cheap source of protein, especially handy while the price of beef is through the roof.

Buffalo Chili

2lbs ground buffalo (you can substitute Bison if you prefer ;) )

3 strips of thick bacon diced

2 32oz cartons beef stock

1 10oz can of Original Rotel ( a mix of diced tomato and chili peppers)

1 15oz can Dark Red Kidney Beans

1 15oz can Light Red Kidney Beans

1 15oz can Pinto Beans

1 5oz can tomato paste

1 small onion diced

1 tsp mince garlic

2 Tbs chili pepper

1 Tsp cayenne (for the love of whatever deity you fall to your knees for taste as you add this!)

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 shot of whiskey

1 Tbs canola oil ( you may need a bit more as buff is very lean so keep an eye on it).

salt and pepper to taste

Start by adding the oil to a hot pan and browning the diced onion, bacon, and garlic. You can add a couple pinches of kosher salt at this point. Once the onion is starting to brown up a bit add the beef and brown it up good. Once browned dump in the Rotel, tomato paste, whiskey, and all the spices including the sugar. Mix well and allow to simmer a bit, then add one carton of the beef stock (buffalo stock is tough to come by) and stir. Simmer for around 45 minutes stirring occasionally, tasting occasionally and adjusting the spices and adding more stock if needed – the meat should be covered. Simmer until thick, or dump it in a crock pot on low and let it ruminate for a couple of hours.

Browning bacon, onions, and garlic

Brown the buffalo

Add Rotel, whiskey, and spices

Add beef stock and simmer

Getting Sloppy in the Kitchen

First there was the lowly steam burger, nutritious but the blandest thing on god's green earth. It was a staple in South Dakota dished out of large hot Nesco Roasters, though I never saw its like in the WI of my childhood -- we had the “Sloppy Joe.” I grew to hate that thing, right up there with the Wednesday meatloaf with Special K cereal as filler. Not so much the dish itself as the constant repetition. Basically both dishes are another way to feed feed lots of people quickly, not exactly fishes and loaves, but a miracle in and of themselves.

Leaving mythological events behind, the Sloppy J became kind of a convenience food of it's time. A combination of ground beef, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, and perhaps a dash of hot sauce it was the 1,2,3, you're done dish of it's day. Now they have a box of crap with a goofy puppet hand on it you can add to your meat, but trust nothing that has spent most of its life in a box. They have made a stab at canning the Sloppy J as well, but with little success. Really there's no point as the dish can be made up ahead of time, or even spur of the moment it doesn't take but a few minutes. Brown the meat, pour off the grease, add the crap, stir until incorporated and and cooked through, then plop on a bun and voila, you're done. Not something I'd serve day in and day out, but good enough when in an occasional bind.

As my wife loves Sloppy Joes I make them primarily for her, though I will eat them however begrudgingly. I did upgrade mine a bit using a poppy seed hard roll, but kept fairly traditional beyond that.

1lbs       ground beef

1/3cup   ketchup

1tsp       brown sugar

1/2 tsp  Worcestershire

1/4tsp    hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste