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One of the best dishes to serve to friends or family for a casual get-together.

This epic chilli con carne is a no brainer as it’s not hard but delivers on flavour in a big way.

  • Serves: 4 – 6
  • Prep: 15 mins
  • Cooking: 1 – 2 hours, hands -off
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Ideal for: casual family/friends meal, batch cooking
  • Budget: £

Chilli con carne

Chilli con carne (Spanish for ‘chilli with meat’).

I like to use grass-fed beef to support best practice farming and animal welfare.

It is more expensive, but my thought process is, we need to reduce our meat intake.

So, why not reduce it but spend more on the meat we do buy.

Therefore you get a much better quality product and flavour to boot.

chilli con carne

The differences; grass-fed, grain-fed, pasture-raised

Pasture-fed (or aka pasture-raised) is a whole new thing I’ve uncovered in my research.

Which you may start seeing on products. It’s a ‘Pasture for Life‘ certification mark which shows the animal has been pasture-fed.

So, what’s the difference?

Basically, pasture-fed or pasture-raised is when the animal is fed 100 per cent only on pasture. Simples.

But grass-fed animals can still eat other things including grains.

Most farmers ‘finish’ their animals on cereals in order to get them to the desired weight.

Sometimes animals are ‘grass-finished’ alongside grain feeding.

Pasture-fed cows not only feed on grass but munch on herbs, flowers, clover and other legumes that lurk on their pasture.

This gives a rich, intense flavour to the meat, with a slight herbal sweetness.

It’s not a prolific farming method, currently.

But keep an eye out for it.

It’s by far the best way to buy produce with the environment and animal welfare in mind.

Epic chilli con carne

Recipe: BBC Good Food

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Epic chilli con carne

Course Main Course
Keyword beef mince, chilli, chilli con carne, grass-fed beef
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 people
Cost £

Ingredients

  • 500 g beef mince (grass-fed if you can)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp heaped hot chilli powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 1 tsp sugar (or a couple of pieces of dark chocolate)
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 -2 x 400 g tinned tomatoes
  • 1 x 400 g kidney beans (optional)

Instructions

  • In a large deep pan, on medium, add some oil and sweat off the diced onion – approx. 5 mins).
  • Add in the garlic, hot chilli powder, paprika, ground cumin, and oregano.
  • Add the minced beef and cook it, using a wooden spoon to break the meat up and mix in with the spices.
  • Crumble the beef stock cube into 300ml hot water and add to the beef. Then add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, sugar (and dark chocolate) and stir well.
    Taste and season to your liking.
    Leave on a low heat and let gently cook for 1 – 2 hours. Keep an eye on it and add any extra liquid if it looks like it's drying out. Give the occasional stir.
  • Serve with rice, tacos or in a bowl with rustic bread.

Video