Cookin' With Leo

By Leocthasme

Basics

Just happened to be lookin' over some recipes an' thinkin' about how to sort and store them. My own recipes of course are from figments of my imagination, my Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother, and from my ingenious improvisations, whichever, and are stored in my magnificent mind, wherever. Others are all over the place; some from Ma an' gramma; some from friends and relatives who like what they do an' want to spread the good news; some from unlikely acquaintances who like to leave out ingredients so as to be sure whatever it is ain't gonna' turn out to be what it's supposed to be; an' then some that just came to me in various ways and just piled up over the years. So, I was sorting through them to see what was noteworthy and what was so much gastronomical gibberish, whichever. Thus, I came upon a very simple recipe for Chili. It probably got passed on to me from some of my cohorts cavorting at cookouts who always liked to share various Chili recipes, but not their own concealed concoctions. So, here is a basic chili recipe for all the chili lovers of the world.

Cut up as much meat as you think you will need (any kind will do, but beef is probably best) in pieces about the size of a pecan. Put it in a pot, along with some suet (enough so as the meat won't stick to the sides or burn on the bottom of the pot), and cook it in a covered pot with about the same amount of wild onions, garlic, oregano, and chilies as you have got meat. Put in some salt. Stir it from time to time and cook it until the meat is as tender as you think it's going to get.

Whoever wrote this must have been hunting wild animals, since the final rule is to cook it until the meat is 'as tender as you think it's going to get'. Some deer, boar, or other wild game will never get as tender as you think it should get because there is usually not enough fat on the animal. Most wild game gets a lot more exercise hunting for food, than the food it will find, thus it has little stored fat. Therefore, little browning is necessary because doing that will just make it tougher. Stewing it with the other ingredients will get it as tender as it will get.

Have Fun.