Full On Franks with Beanless Chili on Artisinal Buns
Summer is all about grilling steaks, hot dogs, burgers, chicken and more. This flavorful dish can be made inside or out on the grill, at a campsite or along a lake or river at a campsite. I have made chili with and without beans, and with different meats. My dad made his chili (which should be a food group) with ground beef and steak. I have done that, I have used pork, I have used turkey and, among my favorites, bison. I am also a big fan of beanless chili on hot dogs. I don't mind the beans, but I want the major texture and flavor to come from the hot dogs themselves, not beans. Again, beans or not, both are good, but I love beanless chili on my hot dogs.
For fun, I'd love to share this dish with you, followed by another which uses large beef franks as the focus of the dish. Let's get to it!
Ingredients
1 package large beef franks
1 package artisinal buns
1 28-oz can tomato puree
1 bottle of your favorite Mexican beer
1 14.5-oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1/2 onion, grated or finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 fire roasted Anaheim green chiles (or serranos, seeded and ribs removed) diced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1.5 pounds 85% lean ground sirloin
Spices
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 rounded tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Chili Molido or Pasilla
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 palm full oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
salt
*You can use fresh thyme and oregano, for sure!
Using a sharp knife to score the beef franks on a top and bottom, not the sides. Set them aside.
Place all of the spices in a bowl. Be sure to rub dried oregano in your palms to crumble it and awaken the flavor.
In a large pot, add the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil ripples, add the onion and garlic. Move the aromatics around and enjoy the amazing aroma. Move them to the ring around the pot and add the ground beef. Get some good color on the beef as it browns. Color is flavor. When the beef is almost done cooking, add half of the spices and stir to coat the entire mixture with the spices.
Next, add the wet ingredients (1/2 or 2/3 of the beer) and again stir thoroughly to combine. Bring the heat to high. Bring the chili to a good boil. Add the other half of the spices, again, combine thoroughly. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer 1 - 3 hours.
When you are about ready to serve, add a little vegetable oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the large scored beef franks to the skillet when the oil ripples, meaning it is hot enough to begin searing the meat. Get some good color on all sides, but you will notice the scored sides with darken, maybe slightly char. If you like that, go for it. I do. If not, just let it evenly get a little color (they'll darken a bit).
I set my dinner up assembly line style. Plates, napkins, buns, condiments, hot dogs, garnishes and finally, store-bought potato salad. Worked very smoothly. You set up your way and enjoy!!!
The buns were huge so I added two franks to mine. I ate it open faced sandwich style, using a knife and fork, and I overloaded it with chili -- you can see the onion and diced tomatoes and beef, so aromatic and flavorful -- and used my fork to remove some of the chili just for fun and to the enjoyment of my tummy.
As always, friends, Thank You for your time and consideration. I love your visits and I apologize for the tardiness of keeping up on my blogging. Thank You for sticking with me!
Martin
~In-House Cook
