Chili madness has affected another country with a cowboy culture…our friends “down under” have the same passion for chili as we Yanks. Why, they even have a National Chili Archives in Tibooburra, New South Wales and an entire cult of chili eaters on the auto-racing circuit. This recipe for Dinkum Chili (“dinkum” is the Australian slang for “authentic”) has won the Annual Western Australian Winter Championship Chili Cookoff at Kunanaggi Well. It was created by Australia’s racing team.
INGREDIENTS:
- 500 grams Wallaroo bacon
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium brown onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 kilogram coarsely chopped red kangaroo shanks
- 500 grams coarsely chopped grey kangaroo steak
- 500 grams ground emu ham
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 31 grams Tasmanian light red chile
- 30 grams Wooroorooka chile
- 26 grams (approx) Mount Isa dark red chile
- 1 fluid gram cumin
- 140 grams oregano
- 1 740m/l bottle Australian beer
- 1 411 can whole tomatoes
- Boomerang
- 3 fluid drams brown sugar
PROCESS:
- Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Drain the strips on paper toweling and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, green pepper and cook until the onions are translucent.
- Combine both types of kangaroo meat and the emu ham with the garlic, chiles, cumin and oregano. Add this meat and spice mixture to the pot. Break up any lumps with a fork and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is evenly browned.
- Add the beer, tomatoes, and reserved bacon to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 2 hours, waving the boomerang over the pot 14 times each hour.
- Taste, adjust seasonings, and add more beer if desired. Simmer for 2 hours longer, stirring occasionally.
- Add the brown sugar and simmer for 15 minutes longer, vigorously waving the boomerang over the pot.
Serves: 8
(P.S. The part I like best about making this particular chili is the well deserved trip to Australia that Doug always lets me take. HAPPY SHOPPING!)