Low Carb Authentic Texas Chili Red – Keto Dreams Come True

Posted by on February 16, 2015 in Gluten Free Recipes, Low Carb Keto Recipes, Soups | Chili | Stew | 4 comments

Low Carb Authentic Texas Chili Red – Keto Dreams Come True
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If you really want to make an authentic pot of Texas Chili, you’ll have to ditch the hamburger and pick up a couple of hunks of meat. Join Fluffy Chix Cook and learn how to not only make the real deal Texas chili you dream about, but learn how to make authentic Texas chili healthy, low carb, and diabetic friendly. Psssst, the secret is breaking up with…guess you need to read more to find out.

 

 

 

 

 

San Antone Military Square

Photo courtesy of Lone Star Junction

 

Chili in Texas equates to pageantry. You can’t have one without the other and call it true, bonafide, Texas Chili. Sorry. But 200 years of Chili Queens would come down on our behonkuses and “haint” us if we so much as tried. Please, make no mistake. You can’t divorce the two. There is a rhythm and grace to making true Texas Chili. And grace simply does not exist in a 30 minute or less cooking window like the ones you find in some chili recipes. Grace, develops with time, with love, and with attention to detail. Chili is a long slow burn.

 

A Bite of Authentic Texas Chili Made Low Carb and Diabetic Friendly

 

The secret to an authentic Texas Chili Red recipe is not getting in a hurry. You can’t get in a rush. It gets done when it’s done and not a second sooner. Timing depends entirely on the meat. Tougher animals will take longer to break down, no matter how small the meat gets cut. But we did take a short cut this time around. Instead of cubing and trimming the meat as Dad would, we cut the hunks into big quarters, browned it, then stuck it in to cook low and slow. After it was tender. We pulled the meat out, separated and discarded any stringy fat, shredded the meat and returned the buttery fat and meat shreds back into the chili. So simple, great texture, and a big time saver!

 

Low Carb Authentic Texas Chili Recipe

 

 

Hugh C. Gibbs, Senior in The Interurban Buffet on Texas Avenue

 

Our granddaddy (Dad’s dad) had a saloon called the Interurban Buffet in downtown Houston. It sat across Texas Avenue from the old Rice Hotel and down the street from the original James Coney Island (JCI, a Houston hot dog stand/bastion famous for its chili and Coney Island dogs). Grandad’s chili gave JCI a run for their money. From 1921-1941, when he died, Hughie Gibbs was known for pouring a cold beer, having a kind word, a generous heart, and for serving heaping plates of chili spaghetti (and making great book in the back of the saloon). Every politician, every police chief, every fire chief…knew Hughie Gibbs and visited frequently. For the book, the booze, but mostly for the chili.

 

Hugh C. Gibbs, Senior Owner of Interurban Buffet

 

Grandad had two Mexican cooks who made his Houston-famous Texas chili and as a little boy, Dad would travel downtown by trolley car to eat lunch with his Dad. He adored the chili and the men who made it in Grandad’s tiny one-butt-kitchen in the back of the saloon. We watched Dad work for years to recreate Grandad’s chili. He was never satisfied. But along the way, he and Mom came upon a true, authentic version that called for cubes of chuck and pork, slowly simmered in a thick chile puree. And it was one of the happiest events to see how pleased he was with the results. It honestly was the best chili we ever put in our mouths, bar none.

 

Low Carb Ketogenic Authentic Texas Chili Recipe

 

This recipe is certainly much more involved than browning some ground meat and onions in a pan, tumping in some spices and a can of tomato sauce, and simmering for 30 minutes. Not that those quick versions aren’t yum, but they are not part of the chili pageantry. Like Texas barbecue, true Texas chili is made with secrets and time. Every chili cook has his or her own twist and secret family recipe. Mom and Dad’s was authentic as the day is long using only meat, onion, reconstituted chiles and spices/herbs; not a tomato anywhere this side of the Brazos and never likely to be as long as I have breath in my body.

 

Straining Chile Puree

 

 

Low Carb Chle Puree

 

Reconstituting dried chiles is impossibly simple. You only need a medium pan, water, chiles, some garlic cloves, and a cheap wire mesh strainer (like the kind from the grocery). To our tastes, blending different types of chiles add to the flavor and complexity of chile puree. We like a 3:2:1 blend of anchos, guajillos, and pasilla chiles. They’re readily available in any market in Houston, but if you have difficulty, order them from our affiliate links in the recipe (remember affiliate links help keep the Fluffy world cranking out new recipes for you). Using a scale really makes this a quick process, since sizes of chiles vary with the season and from year to year. Seed and remove the stems before weighing.

 

A Word About The Cumin & Coriander

Texas Chili Spice BlendUsing pre-ground spice is always a time saver and improves convenience. But if you want super bright flavor from your ground spices, then invest in a little more time for one more step. It is worth it. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan until you smell their scent. Shake frequently to keep them from burning. Then grind them in a clean coffee grinder and use immediately in whatever dish you are cooking. Ground spices. 1 Teaspoon whole seeds make about 20% less, ground.

 

 

Chili Oil Skimmed from Texas Chili

 

Oh and one last note, don’t throw the fat away when you skim the chili. Save it and use it to sauté veggies. Makes AMAZING sautéed zucchini or cauliflower!!

 

 

My Weigh iBalance 2600 Table Top Digital Scale

(Click on image to purchase from the Fluffys’ trusted Amazon partner.)

 

If you don’t have a fancy pants food scale like we do, go haunt the thrift stores. No need for digital. Just grab one of the eleventy billion $0.50 plastic scales at Goodwill. It will get the job done just fine. Vaya con Dios! (Oh and the secret to making low carb keto, authentic Texas Chili is as simple as breaking up with masa, or any flour that is used as a thickener. The chile puree is very low carb and is absolutely packed with nutrition per gram by weight!

 

 

 

 

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4 Comments

  1. I love the touch of including your family history! I too have a grandfather that owned an uptown drinking establishment-I dare not call it a bar or he may haunt me! This chili is exactly the type I want to make. My daughter makes a lot of Mexican/El Salvadorian sauces with these very ingredients and I love the flavors. So I guess as soon as the snow thaws and I can actually make it out of the drive-to town I go in search of these fine chiles. TY for the recipe and great read!

    • Awww I’m so glad you like it! I have been told I’m too “verbose” and that someone intended to not buy any future books from me…but you know, story telling is in my blood. And not everyone will like it…I’m glad you do, though!! Love Salvadoran food!!! And you know I heart Mexican and Tex-Mex. Gotta love that Rick Bayless!

  2. Love your stories Sooze. I so enjoy reading your blog. But I must admit I love your recipes better 🙂
    I made this Chili tonight and OMG just the best tasting dish I have had in a long time!!! Freaking awesome. Seriously the best Chili I have ever had and my husband and son agree!!! Oh and yes you were right about the oil I skimmed off it is pure chili oil and I used it to saute my shiritaki rice and it gave it such a great flavor. I wish I had a whole quart of that stuff!!
    Love you Sooze <3 Thank you again for giving my family another incredible meal!

    • Allison you are such a dear friend!! I can’t tell you how much it means that you want to try our recipes and not only that, but then you come and give such great feedback. You know we love that comment love! I’m so happy your family approves! It truly is our family’s TNT chili recipe (with a few mods to make it low carb). And it IS what true Texas chili is supposed to taste like. The fact that you trimmed and cubed the meat like Dad would have done, makes the texture even better! I’m glad you chose to do that! XOXO!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Low Carb Chile Puree – A Tex Mex Staple | Fluffy Chix Cook - […] delicious meat, onion, chile puree, and spices recipe the Fluffys are famous for in their Authentic Texas Chili Red,…
  2. Low Carb Tex Mex Chili Gravy – El Fenix Chili Gravy Copycat Recipe | Fluffy Chix Cook - […] also chose to use some of the chile puree we made for the Authentic Low Carb Texas Chili Red.…
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